Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the September 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 571,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $218.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 403,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,169. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12-month low of $166.73 and a 12-month high of $224.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.93.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.01. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 42.77% and a net margin of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 60.07%.

Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Laura Matlin sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total transaction of $145,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,480. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Laura Matlin sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total transaction of $145,368.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,480. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 31,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.37, for a total transaction of $6,540,242.43. Following the sale, the president now owns 67,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,938,374.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,386 shares of company stock valued at $28,112,824. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 17,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BR has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

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.