Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 10,992 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,992 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $66,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clarus Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.5% in the second quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 2,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 10.1% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 489 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.6% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Crew Capital Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.4% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.8% in the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 5,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.37, for a total transaction of $1,465,991.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 143,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,020,545.45. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 7,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.72, for a total value of $1,848,497.92. Following the sale, the president directly owned 48,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,824,151.36. This represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,532 shares of company stock valued at $38,417,208 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:BR opened at $232.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77 and a beta of 0.95. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.20 and a 1 year high of $271.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 12.19%. Equities analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 55.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BR shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $261.50.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Company 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.