Aigen Investment Management LP Takes Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP acquired 5,572 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. for approximately $1.35 million in the first quarter.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions increased its quarterly dividend from $0.88 to $0.975, with a yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 49.65%.
• Despite insider sales, analysts remain positive on Broadridge, with several raising their price targets and issuing buy ratings recently.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,572 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,620.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 48.4% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 5,056 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.55, for a total transaction of $1,211,164.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,070,554.85. This represents a 19.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.08, for a total value of $864,392.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,509,227.36. This represents a 10.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,477 shares of company stock worth $5,093,784. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $259.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.50.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

BR traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $259.20. The company had a trading volume of 184,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 585,612. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.62. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.95 and a 12-month high of $271.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.94.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.04. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 42.72%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.975 per share. This is a boost from Broadridge Financial Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is currently 49.65%.

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.