Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Purchases 150 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 200.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BR. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,746,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3,197.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,945,000 after acquiring an additional 198,169 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,302.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 147,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,618,000 after acquiring an additional 140,886 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $274,650,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 198,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,765,000 after acquiring an additional 98,275 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:BR opened at $227.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.30 and a 12 month high of $237.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.15.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BR has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total transaction of $880,837.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,308,431.76. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total value of $3,618,327.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,466.72. The trade was a 56.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,264,846. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.