Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 59,658 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 62.7%, selling 59,658 shares and bringing its holdings down to 35,519 shares valued at approximately $8.61 million.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with Price T Rowe Associates increasing its stake by 50% and GAMMA Investing LLC boosting holdings by over 31,000% during the recent quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, representing a 1.4% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 52.93% as of the latest filing.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,519 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 59,658 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $8,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,620.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 48.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BR shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $259.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.50.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.08, for a total value of $864,392.48. Following the sale, the director owned 30,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,509,227.36. The trade was a 10.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 3,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.26, for a total value of $855,796.82. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $1,441,829.02. This trade represents a 37.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,048 shares of company stock worth $4,101,083 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $266.83. The company had a trading volume of 303,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,736. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 0.98. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.29 and a fifty-two week high of $271.91. The firm's fifty day moving average is $243.20 and its 200-day moving average is $238.72. The company has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61 and a beta of 0.94.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 42.72%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.65%.

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.