Washington Trust Bank Acquires 198 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $104,466,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 882.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 437,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,186,000 after buying an additional 392,695 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,302.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 147,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,618,000 after acquiring an additional 140,886 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,773,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 97.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 198,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,765,000 after acquiring an additional 98,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BR opened at $233.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $236.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.62. 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 capitalization of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47 and a beta of 1.05.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total transaction of $124,182.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,043.20. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.93, for a total value of $115,396.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,132.80. The trade was a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.