Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,231,904,000 after buying an additional 74,674 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,644,000 after acquiring an additional 51,439 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,999,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,018,000 after acquiring an additional 15,208 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,649,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $378,175,000 after acquiring an additional 43,533 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,594,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $342,856,000 after purchasing an additional 5,813 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total value of $124,182.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,043.20. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,854.40. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 124,754 shares of company stock worth $29,397,793. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BR shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.00.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $237.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.97 and a 200 day moving average of $227.66. The firm has a market cap of $27.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18 and a beta of 1.05. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $188.30 and a one year high of $246.58.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 44.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.09%.

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.