Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,644,000 after purchasing an additional 51,439 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,999,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,018,000 after purchasing an additional 15,208 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,594,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $342,856,000 after purchasing an additional 5,813 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,129,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,442,000 after purchasing an additional 29,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 904,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,585,000 after purchasing an additional 20,775 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BR opened at $231.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $235.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.17 and a beta of 1.05. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.30 and a 52 week high of $246.58.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,734,854.40. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total value of $124,182.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,043.20. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.