Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BR. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 36,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, President Christopher John Perry sold 22,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.23, for a total value of $5,259,037.11. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 52,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,355,220.52. This represents a 29.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total transaction of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,973,188.84. The trade was a 36.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 123,473 shares of company stock valued at $29,072,366. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $240.28 on Friday. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $192.68 and a 12-month high of $247.01. The company has a market capitalization of $28.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $233.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.41.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. 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.