Running Oak Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,854 shares during the period. Broadridge Financial Solutions makes up approximately 2.1% of Running Oak Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $10,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in 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 valued at $276,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456,847 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 124.8% during 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,750,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 valued at $19,209,000 after purchasing an additional 88,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,648,980.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $2,497,462.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,648,980.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,483 shares of company stock worth $9,745,637. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Broadridge Financial Solutions stock traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $195.35. 429,709 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,195. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $200.41 and its 200-day moving average is $194.93. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.54 and a 12-month high of $210.24.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James raised their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com cut Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.