Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 1,015 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Key Points

• Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.3%, owning 18,195 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million after selling 1,015 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple large investors increased their stakes in Broadridge Financial Solutions, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its shareholding by over 31,000% recently.
• Analysts have given Broadridge Financial Solutions a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $250.83, while recent reports suggest strong growth potential and buying interest in the stock.

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA cut its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,195 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,015 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $4,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BR. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 48.4% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 141 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 3,607 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president owned 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,441,829.02. The trade was a 37.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela L. Carter sold 4,829 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 40.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,048 shares of company stock worth $4,101,083. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $222.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $259.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BR traded down $0.80 on Thursday, hitting $266.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,263,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,786. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $243.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.72. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.29 and a fifty-two week high of $271.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53 and a beta of 0.94.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 12.19%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.65%.

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.