Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 14,005 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,082,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,005 shares during the period. Broadridge Financial Solutions accounts for about 1.3% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $222,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 680.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,584,000 after acquiring an additional 74,387 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $227,750,000. Crown Oak Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $7,032,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the third quarter worth about $8,116,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $1,089,000. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,483 shares of company stock worth $9,745,637. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $194.05 on Friday. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.06 and a 52 week high of $210.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $200.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.75%.

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.