Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $393.00 to $399.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $409.00 to $372.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $454.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $356.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Capital One Financial set a $370.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised LPL Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.00.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $3.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $308.68. 175,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,549. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $322.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $320.92. The firm has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.69 by $0.28. LPL Financial had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 32.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 23.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. This represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total transaction of $153,067.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $617,139.12. The trade was a 19.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,867 shares of company stock worth $1,726,944 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,333,189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth about $1,182,595,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,103,079,000 after purchasing an additional 289,227 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,163,000 after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,734,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $520,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc provides brokerage and investment advisory services through a network of independent financial professionals. The company supports financial advisors, registered investment advisers, banks and credit unions with services designed to help them serve individual and institutional clients.

Its offerings include investment and retirement planning platforms, brokerage and advisory account services, custody, financial technology, research, compliance support and practice-management resources.