Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Short Interest Up 12.9% in December

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the December 15th total of 920,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 483,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $246.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $226.71.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.3 %

BR traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.35. The company had a trading volume of 582,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,680. The company has a market cap of $26.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12 month low of $188.30 and a 12 month high of $237.96. The business's fifty day moving average price is $229.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.03.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is 60.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $3,618,327.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,466.72. The trade was a 56.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,264,846 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,746,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3,197.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,366 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,945,000 after purchasing an additional 198,169 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,302.8% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 147,004 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,618,000 after acquiring an additional 140,886 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $274,650,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 198,878 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,765,000 after acquiring an additional 98,275 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.