The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target to $271.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $289.00 to $271.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $275.69.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $230.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $289.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given 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 yield of 0.52%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 8,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,478,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $310,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in LPL Financial by 5.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,033,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 170,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,718,000 after acquiring an additional 6,646 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.