Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 347 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,644,000 after buying an additional 51,439 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,999,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,018,000 after acquiring an additional 15,208 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% during 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. increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% during 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 raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.3% during 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 worth $194,585,000 after purchasing an additional 20,775 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $241.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.30 and a fifty-two week high of $246.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.50.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,734,854.40. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total value of $124,182.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,043.20. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,441 shares of company stock worth $1,547,835 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.