LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $274.06 and last traded at $272.32, with a volume of 31968 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $304.46 and its 200 day moving average is $335.62. The company has a market capitalization of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.57.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 10.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,879 shares of company stock worth $1,538,826. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $874,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27,955.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,616,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,163,000 after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.