William Blair Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) – Equities research analysts at William Blair cut their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of LPL Financial in a report released on Wednesday, May 22nd. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $3.82 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.86. The consensus estimate for LPL Financial’s current full-year earnings is $15.86 per share.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.44. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 55.22% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.20.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $284.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.83. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $190.13 and a 52 week high of $284.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,681 shares of company stock worth $11,109,490 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 286.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,553,000 after buying an additional 613,792 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1,732.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,055,000 after acquiring an additional 537,272 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,245,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 358.2% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 456,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,604,000 after acquiring an additional 357,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.