LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Plans $0.30 Quarterly Dividend

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%.

LPL Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 6.3% per year over the last three years. LPL Financial has a payout ratio of 5.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect LPL Financial to earn $19.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.2%.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of LPLA traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $361.80. 1,162,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,841. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $366.00. 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 $27.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $334.08 and a 200 day moving average of $272.49.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on 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 investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% 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.