Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV cut its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,638 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $5,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BR. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,328,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 64,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,535,000 after buying an additional 3,457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE BR opened at $239.12 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $231.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.96. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.30 and a 12 month high of $241.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.37 and a beta of 1.08.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total value of $5,325,778.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,975,838.77. This represents a 47.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total value of $880,837.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,308,431.76. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,264,846. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.71.

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.