Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Short Interest Update

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the December 15th total of 920,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 483,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on BR shares. StockNews.com cut Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.71.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.3 %

BR stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.35. The stock had a trading volume of 582,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,680. The company has a fifty day moving average of $229.43 and a 200 day moving average of $217.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1-year low of $188.30 and a 1-year high of $237.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 10,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.82, for a total value of $2,439,902.74. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,118.98. This trade represents a 45.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total value of $5,325,778.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,975,838.77. This trade represents a 47.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,532 shares of company stock worth $12,264,846 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 10,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.