Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires New Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BR. New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $1,465,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $227,750,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 642.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 81,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,707,000 after purchasing an additional 70,263 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,032,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,361,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 3,473 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.06, for a total transaction of $687,862.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,473,779.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 3,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.06, for a total value of $687,862.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,473,779.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total transaction of $501,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,875,944.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BR. StockNews.com cut Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $239.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BR stock traded down $0.80 on Friday, reaching $214.15. The company had a trading volume of 212,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,981. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.99 and a 12 month high of $216.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $201.49 and a 200-day moving average of $200.85. The stock has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.61%.

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.