Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 86 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 715 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BR. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 10.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 126.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1,851.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 13.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,722 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $192.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.89. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.52 and a 12-month high of $210.24.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 10.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.75%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 12,731 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.02, for a total value of $2,559,185.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,674,169.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,483 shares of company stock valued at $9,745,637 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.