Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 3,037 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 10.7% to 31,322 shares, valued at approximately $7.59 million.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions recently paid a $0.88 quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 1.4%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $250.83 for Broadridge, with several firms issuing "buy" ratings.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,322 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $7,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BR. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 50.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,186,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,037,015 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $684,971,000 after purchasing an additional 37,141 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,648,527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $372,713,000 after purchasing an additional 40,506 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,604,783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $362,825,000 after purchasing an additional 314,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $259.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $250.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 1.5%

BR stock traded up $3.69 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $248.34. The stock had a trading volume of 677,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,076. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $29.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $241.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.96. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.29 and a 1-year high of $257.65.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.82% and a net margin of 11.65%. The firm's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hope M. Jarkowski sold 1,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.22, for a total transaction of $251,214.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,070 shares in the company, valued at $251,685.40. The trade was a 49.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 5,056 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.55, for a total transaction of $1,211,164.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,070,554.85. The trade was a 19.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,116 shares of company stock worth $4,352,298. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions 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.