LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock traded up $7.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $312.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 883,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,870. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $312.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $242.47 and its 200-day moving average is $249.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued 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. 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.