Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BR. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $580,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 42.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,015,000 after purchasing an additional 8,675 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter valued at $3,069,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 48.4% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 141 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BR shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.50.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 5,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.37, for a total transaction of $1,465,991.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 143,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,020,545.45. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 7,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.72, for a total transaction of $1,848,497.92. Following the sale, the president directly owned 48,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,824,151.36. This represents a 12.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,532 shares of company stock worth $38,417,208. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $232.97 on Thursday. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.20 and a 52-week high of $271.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.10. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86 and a beta of 0.95.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 42.72%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.01%.

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.