Empirical Finance LLC Sells 262 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,866,238,000 after acquiring an additional 39,537 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,168,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $853,898,000 after purchasing an additional 28,180 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,061,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $627,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,970 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,496,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $306,609,000 after purchasing an additional 43,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.9% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,102,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,804,000 after purchasing an additional 20,023 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:BR opened at $212.86 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.23. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.73 and a 12 month high of $223.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32 and a beta of 1.04.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.01. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 40.88% and a net margin of 10.92%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 60.07%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 31,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.37, for a total transaction of $6,540,242.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 67,215 shares in the company, valued at $13,938,374.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 31,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.37, for a total transaction of $6,540,242.43. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 67,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,938,374.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.11, for a total value of $5,227,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,963,149.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,387 shares of company stock worth $20,503,110 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.