Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Purchases New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 129,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,453,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 42.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $370.67 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $260.15 and a 52 week high of $400.16. The firm has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $319.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

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.