Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management significantly increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 153.8% in the 2nd quarter, owning 3,799 shares valued at approximately $923,000.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions announced a quarterly dividend of $0.975 per share, marking an increase from the previous quarter's dividend of $0.88, with an annualized yield of 1.7%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Broadridge's stock, with several price target upgrades, including Morgan Stanley raising its target from $222 to $261 and UBS Group increasing it from $250 to $280.

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 153.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,799 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BR. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $580,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 42.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,933 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,015,000 after purchasing an additional 8,675 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $3,069,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 5,674 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.37, for a total transaction of $1,465,991.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 7,036 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.72, for a total transaction of $1,848,497.92. Following the sale, the president directly owned 48,813 shares in the company, valued at $12,824,151.36. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,532 shares of company stock worth $38,417,208 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR stock opened at $228.97 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $246.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.17. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.20 and a 12-month high of $271.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 42.72%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is presently 55.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.50.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

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.

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