Morgan Stanley Raises LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target to $309.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $303.00 to $309.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $277.77.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $258.62 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $225.63 and a 200-day moving average of $248.22. The stock has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $289.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.79 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 74.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 6,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.