Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 441 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the second quarter worth $2,784,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,216,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 23,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.3% during the third quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total value of $880,837.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,308,431.76. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total transaction of $5,325,778.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,137 shares in the company, valued at $5,975,838.77. This trade represents a 47.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock worth $12,264,846. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BR opened at $238.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.30 and a 12 month high of $241.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $231.26 and its 200-day moving average is $220.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26 and a beta of 1.08.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BR. StockNews.com cut Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $246.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.71.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Company 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.