Wambolt & Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,309 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,038 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,593,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the third quarter worth about $2,655,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,062 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $197.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 615,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,866. The company has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.11. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.54 and a 12-month high of $210.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 40.88%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total value of $2,497,462.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,648,980.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total value of $2,497,462.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,648,980.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,761 shares of company stock worth $5,223,959 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.67.

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.