Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,674 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $3,231,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BR. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,412,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $483,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 53.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 121.3% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,486,000 after buying an additional 6,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Five research 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, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR stock opened at $237.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $236.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 1.05. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.30 and a fifty-two week high of $246.58.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total transaction of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,973,188.84. This trade represents a 36.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.93, for a total value of $115,396.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,132.80. This trade represents a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Profile

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.