Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 929,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,386 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $205,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the second quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 17,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BR. UBS Group initiated coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total value of $3,618,327.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,466.72. This represents a 56.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total value of $5,325,778.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,975,838.77. The trade was a 47.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,532 shares of company stock worth $12,264,846 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR opened at $233.53 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.87. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.30 and a 52 week high of $237.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.40 and a beta of 1.07.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.90%.

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.