LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Rating Increased to Buy at UBS Group

by · The Cerbat Gem

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $390.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.17.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on LPL Financial

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $335.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $319.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.48. The stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $344.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About LPL Financial

(Get Free Report)

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.

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