Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 601.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 132,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,905 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $27,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 680.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,584,000 after purchasing an additional 74,387 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $227,750,000. Crown Oak Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $7,032,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the third quarter worth about $8,116,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $1,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total value of $167,311.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,891,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,483 shares of company stock valued at $9,745,637 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BR stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $195.35. 429,709 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,195. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.93. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.54 and a 1-year high of $210.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.98.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.75%.

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.