Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,949,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,581,000 after buying an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $295,982,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $5.91 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $332.21. 769,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 740,833. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.72. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

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.