Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,136 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,755 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $2,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,417,000 after buying an additional 72,018 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.6% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 2,774 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,929 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total transaction of $5,325,778.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,975,838.77. This represents a 47.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total value of $880,837.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,308,431.76. The trade was a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,264,846. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BR. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $226.71.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Broadridge Financial Solutions stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $230.35. 582,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,680. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $229.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 1.08. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.30 and a 1 year high of $237.96.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Broadridge Financial Solutions's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio 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.