William Blair Reduces Earnings Estimates for LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) – Investment analysts at William Blair reduced their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of LPL Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $3.95 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.98. The consensus estimate for LPL Financial’s current full-year earnings is $15.71 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for LPL Financial’s FY2025 earnings at $18.30 EPS.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.08% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LPLA. Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.31.

LPL Financial Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $282.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. LPL Financial has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $291.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.02%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,703 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 533.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at $3,648,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,923,000 after buying an additional 21,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in LPL Financial by 5.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 394,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,070,000 after purchasing an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.