StockNews.com Lowers LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) to Sell

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

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $275.69.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $235.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $289.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 16,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,689,000 after buying an additional 4,391 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 1,911.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 99,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,694,000 after purchasing an additional 94,746 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.