Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $3.24 Million in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 14,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,244,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adero Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 5,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $235.40 on Thursday. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.30 and a 1 year high of $246.58. The firm has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $235.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 55.09%.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 22,357 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.23, for a total transaction of $5,259,037.11. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 52,524 shares in the company, valued at $12,355,220.52. The trade was a 29.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total value of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,788 shares in the company, valued at $39,973,188.84. This trade represents a 36.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.17.

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.