Aberdeen Group plc Increases Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 22.8% in Q2, owning 151,879 shares valued at approximately $36.5 million.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions announced a quarterly dividend of $0.975 per share, increasing from the previous $0.88, reflecting a 1.7% yield.
• Analysts have upgraded the stock's target price, with UBS increasing it to $280 and Needham & Company raising it to $305, indicating growing confidence in the company's performance.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 22.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,879 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,225 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.13% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $36,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 360.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 115 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 141 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BR shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 84,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.53, for a total transaction of $21,948,711.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 165,634 shares in the company, valued at $42,986,992.02. This represents a 33.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 7,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.72, for a total transaction of $1,848,497.92. Following the transaction, the president owned 48,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,824,151.36. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,532 shares of company stock worth $38,417,208. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:BR opened at $232.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company's 50-day moving average is $250.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.59. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.20 and a 12-month high of $271.91.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 42.72%. Research analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is currently 55.01%.

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.

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