Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $2.54 Million Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $2,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $238,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 121,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $2,513,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 1,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total value of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,788 shares in the company, valued at $39,973,188.84. The trade was a 36.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,180,132.80. This trade represents a 8.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 124,754 shares of company stock worth $29,397,793 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BR stock opened at $227.76 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.11. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.30 and a 52 week high of $246.58.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 EPS 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 business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.17.

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.