Freestone Grove Partners LP Invests $50.17 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 178,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,174,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned about 0.23% of LPL Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 580.0% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 49.5% during the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $360.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $330.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.00. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $400.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.51 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

About LPL Financial

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.