Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 6,833 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 7.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 102,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,833 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $24,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,620.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 450.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter worth about $36,000. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.08, for a total transaction of $864,392.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,509,227.36. This represents a 10.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 11,000 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.29, for a total transaction of $2,852,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,095,049.86. The trade was a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,299 shares of company stock worth $40,196,503. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BR stock opened at $260.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73 and a beta of 0.94. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $206.95 and a one year high of $271.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $245.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 42.72%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 49.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BR shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.50.

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.