LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $331.00 and last traded at $330.95, with a volume of 47817 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $326.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.83.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $280.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.