WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 1,319 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,319 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co owned about 0.05% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $13,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,714,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,135,476,000 after acquiring an additional 108,223 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,043,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $944,766,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048,184 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,660,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $775,189,000 after buying an additional 11,728 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,488,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $511,243,000 after buying an additional 96,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,519,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $368,593,000 after buying an additional 37,989 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 12,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.02, for a total value of $2,559,185.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,169.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,552 shares of company stock worth $10,786,404. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

NYSE BR traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $202.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 76,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,302. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14 and a beta of 0.99. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.35 and a 1-year high of $210.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $201.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.11.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.