Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Short Interest Update

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the December 15th total of 920,900 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 483,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $230.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a PE ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 1.08. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $188.30 and a fifty-two week high of $237.96. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $229.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.03.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 41.79%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BR. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 $5,975,838.77. This trade represents a 47.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 10,757 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.82, for a total value of $2,439,902.74. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,878,118.98. The trade was a 45.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,532 shares of company stock worth $12,264,846. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 10,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.