Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 758 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $6,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,412,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $483,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 53.5% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 10,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,486,000 after acquiring an additional 6,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $233.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $236.05 and its 200 day moving average is $226.62. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.30 and a 1-year high of $246.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 44.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.09%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 22,357 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.23, for a total transaction of $5,259,037.11. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 52,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,355,220.52. This trade represents a 29.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total transaction of $22,590,921.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,973,188.84. The trade was a 36.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions.