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

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.42.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

LPLA stock opened at $330.41 on Friday. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $344.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.43. 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 cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by 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.