Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. $BR

Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 40.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,041 shares during the period. Broadridge Financial Solutions makes up 0.5% of Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $19,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,733,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,572,199,000 after buying an additional 438,381 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,292,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $797,031,000 after acquiring an additional 136,386 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.6% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,751,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $425,610,000 after purchasing an additional 61,659 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,168,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $283,278,000 after purchasing an additional 38,527 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,076,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $261,071,000 after purchasing an additional 33,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $261.00 to $256.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $259.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $225.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.33 and a 52-week high of $271.91.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 43.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 5,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.37, for a total value of $1,465,991.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 143,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,020,545.45. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.