Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. by 9.5%, now holding approximately 0.40% of the company with a value of $115.1 million.
• Broadridge recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.975, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.88, with a dividend yield of 1.5%.
• Various analysts have adjusted their price targets for Broadridge, with Morgan Stanley increasing it from $222 to $261, and UBS Group raising it to $280, while Needham & Company set a target of $305.

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 474,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 50,001 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.40% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $115,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BR. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 31,011.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,964 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $240,027,000 after acquiring an additional 986,782 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 577.9% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,035,938 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $251,513,000 after purchasing an additional 883,125 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,733,147 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,572,199,000 after purchasing an additional 438,381 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the first quarter worth about $91,445,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 156.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 404,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $98,155,000 after buying an additional 247,157 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 5,674 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.37, for a total value of $1,465,991.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 143,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,020,545.45. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,556 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at $7,509,227.36. This trade represents a 10.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,088 shares of company stock worth $39,281,601. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BR traded down $3.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $252.02. The company had a trading volume of 706,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,909. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55 and a beta of 0.96. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.95 and a twelve month high of $271.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $249.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.21.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 12.19%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.230-9.580 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is currently 49.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $259.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $261.50.

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.