William Blair Lifts Earnings Estimates for LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) – Analysts at William Blair boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of LPL Financial in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $16.20 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $15.74. The consensus estimate for LPL Financial’s current full-year earnings is $15.92 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for LPL Financial’s Q1 2025 earnings at $4.62 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $4.40 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.56 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $4.72 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on LPLA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $275.81 on Monday. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $291.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 52.08%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 74.7% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

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.