Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 40,440 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 888,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40,440 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $200,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,231,904,000 after purchasing an additional 74,674 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,644,000 after buying an additional 51,439 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the third 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,649,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $378,175,000 after buying an additional 43,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 5,813 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.00.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $244.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.30 and a 12-month high of $246.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $237.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.23.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,180,132.80. This represents a 8.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $39,973,188.84. The trade was a 36.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.