Brokerages Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target at $351.50

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $351.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $356.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $361.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 16.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in LPL Financial by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.