Ballentine Partners LLC Makes New $389,000 Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC invested approximately $389,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc., acquiring 1,038 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of LPL Financial's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• LPL Financial recently reported a 30.8% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings per share of $4.51, exceeding analysts' estimates.

Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 224.1% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,351 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,453.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,795,000 after buying an additional 971,814 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 786.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,849,000 after buying an additional 851,115 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 550.5% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 759,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $248,367,000 after buying an additional 642,503 shares during the period. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 238.1% in the 1st quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 871,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,026,000 after buying an additional 613,555 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total transaction of $507,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,959,260.20. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.2%

LPLA stock opened at $340.52 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $222.74 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average is $359.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.88 EPS. LPL Financial's revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $391.54.

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.

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