Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Shares Acquired by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $270,000 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 the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the third quarter worth $44,746,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,302.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 147,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,618,000 after acquiring an additional 140,886 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 198,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,765,000 after acquiring an additional 98,275 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 113.8% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 141,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,434,000 after purchasing an additional 75,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,644,000 after purchasing an additional 51,439 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,854.40. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total transaction of $124,182.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,043.20. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,666 shares of company stock valued at $5,050,766 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $236.71 on Wednesday. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.30 and a 12-month high of $244.47. The company has a market cap of $27.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.78.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.09%.

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.