Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $222.67 Million Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,082,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,005 shares during the period. Broadridge Financial Solutions makes up 1.3% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $222,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BR. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1,700.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,322,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,879,000 after purchasing an additional 70,258 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 733,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,855,000 after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 381,882 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,680 shares in the company, valued at $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,680 shares in the company, valued at $8,891,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 12,731 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.02, for a total transaction of $2,559,185.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,674,169.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,483 shares of company stock valued at $9,745,637 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BR. StockNews.com cut shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped 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. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR opened at $194.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81 and a beta of 0.99. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.46. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $140.06 and a one year high of $210.24.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.75%.

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.