Townsquare Capital LLC Raises Stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.2% during the first quarter, owning 31,723 shares valued at $7.69 million.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.975 per share, marking an increase from the previous $0.88 dividend.
• The company reported $3.55 earnings per share last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate, with revenues rising 6.2% year-over-year.

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,723 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $7,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,733,147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,572,199,000 after buying an additional 438,381 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,560,316 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $804,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,555 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,689,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $409,662,000 after purchasing an additional 39,846 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,648,527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $372,713,000 after buying an additional 40,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,615,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $365,177,000 after buying an additional 20,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Down 0.9%

BR traded down $2.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $263.47. The company had a trading volume of 644,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,714. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.29 and a 12-month high of $271.91. The company has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $244.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Pamela L. Carter sold 4,829 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.23, for a total value of $1,169,728.67. Following the sale, the director owned 7,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,754,229.66. The trade was a 40.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 3,607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $4,101,083 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $259.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.