Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 375 Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,866,238,000 after buying an additional 39,537 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,168,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $853,898,000 after purchasing an additional 28,180 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,061,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $627,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,970 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,496,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $306,609,000 after purchasing an additional 43,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,102,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,804,000 after purchasing an additional 20,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BR. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $213.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total transaction of $501,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,944.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 3,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.06, for a total transaction of $687,862.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,473,779.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total transaction of $501,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,944.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,185 shares of company stock valued at $7,874,473 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $209.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 761,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,891. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $166.73 and a one year high of $223.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $204.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 1.04.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 40.88% and a net margin of 10.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.07%.

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.