Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 156.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 404,830 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 247,157 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.35% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $98,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,231,904,000 after purchasing an additional 74,674 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,560,316 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $804,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,555 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $684,971,000 after acquiring an additional 37,141 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,649,761 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $378,175,000 after acquiring an additional 43,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 40,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $259.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $250.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, insider Hope M. Jarkowski sold 1,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.22, for a total transaction of $251,214.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,685.40. This represents a 49.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.08, for a total transaction of $864,392.48. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,509,227.36. This represents a 10.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,116 shares of company stock valued at $4,352,298. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BR traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $240.32. 384,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,510. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $198.71 and a fifty-two week high of $247.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.14 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50 day moving average is $239.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.93%.

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.