Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the September 30th total of 1,490,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 551,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

BR traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.96. 78,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 516,607. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.89. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1-year low of $171.45 and a 1-year high of $224.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.98 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its earnings results 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. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 42.77%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.66%. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 60.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 31,539 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.37, for a total value of $6,540,242.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 67,215 shares in the company, valued at $13,938,374.55. The trade was 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. In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 31,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.37, for a total value of $6,540,242.43. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 67,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,938,374.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard J. Daly sold 21,938 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.66, for a total value of $4,555,645.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 105,094 shares in the company, valued at $21,823,820.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,386 shares of company stock valued at $28,112,824. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3,197.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,945,000 after buying an additional 198,169 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $274,650,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 364,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,609,000 after acquiring an additional 75,006 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,417,000 after purchasing an additional 72,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 97.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 105,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,689,000 after purchasing an additional 52,171 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BR shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

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.