Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,746,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3,197.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,945,000 after acquiring an additional 198,169 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,302.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 147,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,618,000 after purchasing an additional 140,886 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $274,650,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $42,765,000 after purchasing an additional 98,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR opened at $240.40 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.64. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $188.30 and a one year high of $244.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 1.08.

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, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $3,618,327.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,466.72. This trade represents a 56.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,666 shares of company stock valued at $5,050,766. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions 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.