Jefferies Financial Group Trims LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Target Price to $282.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $309.00 to $282.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $271.69.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $239.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $217.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.91. 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 has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $289.88. The company has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in LPL Financial by 1,911.4% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 99,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,694,000 after acquiring an additional 94,746 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $270,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by 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.