Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 164,021 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 80.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,345 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 164,021 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $9,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 18,196 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,699 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $246.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $226.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total value of $5,325,778.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,975,838.77. The trade was a 47.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total transaction of $880,837.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,308,431.76. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,264,846. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:BR traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.35. 582,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,680. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $229.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $188.30 and a one year high of $237.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.90%.

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.