LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 52-Week High at $277.05

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $277.05 and last traded at $275.45, with a volume of 99692 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $272.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.20.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $265.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.44. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 55.22%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion. Equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,462.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,770 shares of company stock worth $12,992,754. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 286.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,553,000 after purchasing an additional 613,792 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1,732.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,055,000 after acquiring an additional 537,272 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,245,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 358.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 456,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,604,000 after buying an additional 357,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.