Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires New Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,721,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,465,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 642.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 81,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,707,000 after buying an additional 70,263 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,361,000 after buying an additional 14,147 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 108.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 83,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,192,000 after buying an additional 43,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 8,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BR. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.33.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $211.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $166.73 and a 52-week high of $223.81. The company has a market cap of $25.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16 and a beta of 1.05.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.01. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 42.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 60.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 5,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.05, for a total transaction of $1,205,476.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 77,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,645.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 5,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.05, for a total transaction of $1,205,476.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 77,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,240,645.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.11, for a total transaction of $5,227,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,963,149.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 94,914 shares of company stock valued at $19,815,248. Insiders own 1.60% 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.