Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 40,440 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 888,643 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 40,440 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.76% of Broadridge Financial Solutions worth $200,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,231,904,000 after purchasing an additional 74,674 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,118,644,000 after purchasing an additional 51,439 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,999,874 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $643,018,000 after buying an additional 15,208 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,649,761 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $378,175,000 after acquiring an additional 43,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,594,415 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $342,856,000 after acquiring an additional 5,813 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR traded down $14.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $225.19. The stock had a trading volume of 740,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,868. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.30 and a 52 week high of $247.01. The business's 50-day moving average price is $237.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.66.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is presently 55.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total transaction of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,973,188.84. The trade was a 36.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 22,357 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.23, for a total transaction of $5,259,037.11. Following the sale, the president now owns 52,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,355,220.52. This represents a 29.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.00.

Broadridge Financial Solutions 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.