LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $390.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. LPL Financial traded as high as $334.38 and last traded at $333.37, with a volume of 11953 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $330.53.

LPLA has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,633,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 394,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,070,000 after buying an additional 20,123 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 68.2% during the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 217,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,586,000 after buying an additional 88,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in LPL Financial by 882.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 85,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,996,000 after acquiring an additional 77,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.97. The stock has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.