Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 14,005 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,082,210 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,005 shares during the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions makes up 1.3% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $222,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.4% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,825,339 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $326,827,000 after buying an additional 43,235 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1,700.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,542,507 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $276,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456,847 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,322,979 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $236,879,000 after purchasing an additional 70,258 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 733,194 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,855,000 after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 124.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $123,156,000 after purchasing an additional 381,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,097,603.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $2,497,462.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,648,980.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,097,603.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,483 shares of company stock worth $9,745,637. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BR traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $194.15. 211,848 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,147. The business's fifty day moving average is $200.54 and its 200 day moving average is $194.55. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.06 and a fifty-two week high of $210.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BR. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $206.67.

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.