Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Cuts Stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lowered its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the period. Broadridge Financial Solutions accounts for about 1.0% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $8,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BR. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1,700.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,542,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456,847 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 124.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 687,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,156,000 after acquiring an additional 381,882 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $227,750,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1,865.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 93,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,209,000 after acquiring an additional 88,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 307.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,691 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,833,000 after purchasing an additional 83,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,680 shares in the company, valued at $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total value of $167,311.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,483 shares of company stock worth $9,745,637. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $194.23. The stock had a trading volume of 318,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,714. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.52 and a 12-month high of $210.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.34.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BR. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.