Blue Trust Inc. Cuts Stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 45.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 945 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 802 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 51,439 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,999,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,018,000 after acquiring an additional 15,208 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew 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 valued at $342,856,000 after acquiring an additional 5,813 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 904,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,585,000 after buying an additional 20,775 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 536,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $114,451,000 after buying an additional 27,869 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $1,308,256.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,854.40. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,043.20. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,666 shares of company stock worth $5,050,766 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BR stock opened at $238.82 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $232.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $188.30 and a one year high of $244.47. The firm has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 1.08.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results 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 last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.17.

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.