LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s share price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $377.96 and last traded at $379.35. Approximately 100,808 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 606,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $344.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.