Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 204,375 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 506.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 244,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,375 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $59,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,620.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 3,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.26, for a total value of $855,796.82. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,441,829.02. The trade was a 37.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 5,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.55, for a total transaction of $1,211,164.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,070,554.85. This represents a 19.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,116 shares of company stock worth $4,352,298 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BR. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $259.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Monday, May 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $241.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $192.68 and a 1 year high of $247.01. The firm has a market cap of $28.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72 and a beta of 0.96.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 44.40%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 52.93%.

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.