Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $310.00 to $385.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.42.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $330.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $323.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.73. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $344.86. The company has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after buying an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after buying an additional 88,635 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.