Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Invests $8.95 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,949,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $321.99 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. Barclays boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target 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, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 valued at $12,562,070 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial 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.