Short Interest in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Grows By 10.5%

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the August 15th total of 1,240,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 539,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.33.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 17,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.41, for a total value of $3,741,930.94. Following the transaction, the president now owns 50,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,721,078.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, President Christopher John Perry sold 17,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.41, for a total transaction of $3,741,930.94. Following the transaction, the president now owns 50,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,721,078.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.11, for a total transaction of $5,227,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 200,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,963,149.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,386 shares of company stock valued at $28,112,824 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter worth $1,465,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 642.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 81,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,707,000 after purchasing an additional 70,263 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,361,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 108.7% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 83,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,192,000 after purchasing an additional 43,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 99.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,837 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $211.15. 92,222 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 522,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 1.05. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12-month low of $166.73 and a 12-month high of $223.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.25.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 42.77% and a net margin of 10.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.07%.

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.