Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BR. State Street Corp raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,118,644,000 after purchasing an additional 51,439 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,999,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,018,000 after buying an additional 15,208 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,594,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $342,856,000 after buying an additional 5,813 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,129,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,442,000 after buying an additional 29,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 904,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,585,000 after acquiring an additional 20,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $241.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.05 and a 200 day moving average of $225.07. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.30 and a 12 month high of $246.58.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,536 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,854.40. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.93, for a total transaction of $115,396.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,132.80. The trade was a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,441 shares of company stock worth $1,547,835. Corporate 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.