Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 63.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,959 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $4,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,680 shares in the company, valued at $8,891,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares in the company, valued at $1,097,603.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,891,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,483 shares of company stock worth $9,745,637 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

NYSE BR opened at $195.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $200.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.45. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.52 and a 52-week high of $210.24. The company has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 0.99.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BR. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

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.