LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target Lowered to $391.00 at UBS Group

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $395.00 to $391.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

LPLA has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.57.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $300.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $293.58 and a 200-day moving average of $320.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,887 shares of company stock valued at $613,144. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $91,012,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in LPL Financial by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after acquiring an additional 477,094 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in LPL Financial by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,204,000 after acquiring an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $199,998,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 11.3% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 298,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,432,000 after acquiring an additional 30,425 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting LPL Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: LPL announced several new advisor wins, including David Logsdon, who brought roughly $380 million in assets, and Doug and Jenny Haskin, who launched Haskin Private Wealth Advisors with about $170 million in assets. These additions support LPL’s growth in advisor headcount and client assets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cypress Point Wealth Partners also joined LPL’s Independent Advisor Network, adding another independent practice and reinforcing LPL’s appeal to advisors seeking flexibility and support. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s midyear outlook highlights LPL Research’s market commentary and may support investor confidence in the firm’s platform and thought leadership. Article Title

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.