Norges Bank Takes $106.90 Million Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 472,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $106,904,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 35,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,942,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $465,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 11,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,699,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 497,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $112,537,000 after buying an additional 74,039 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 22,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.23, for a total value of $5,259,037.11. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 52,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,355,220.52. This represents a 29.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total transaction of $124,182.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,043.20. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 124,754 shares of company stock worth $29,397,793. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:BR opened at $244.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.29 and a beta of 1.05. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.30 and a 52 week high of $246.58. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $237.43 and a 200-day moving average of $228.23.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.00.

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.