Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $325.00 to $390.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.93% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.75.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $327.93 on Friday. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $334.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $302.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $2,633,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 217,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,586,000 after purchasing an additional 88,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.