NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 2,124 Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,124 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,231,904,000 after purchasing an additional 74,674 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 valued at $804,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,037,015 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $684,971,000 after purchasing an additional 37,141 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 43,533 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $259.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $250.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE BR traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $242.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 374,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 530,944. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $234.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.13. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $192.68 and a twelve month high of $247.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92 and a beta of 0.98.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 44.40%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is currently 52.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.93, for a total transaction of $115,396.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,180,132.80. This trade represents a 8.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total value of $22,590,921.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,788 shares in the company, valued at $39,973,188.84. The trade was a 36.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 128,302 shares of company stock worth $30,242,095. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.