Zions Bancorporation N.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,979 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $2,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $104,466,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 882.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 437,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,186,000 after purchasing an additional 392,695 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,302.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 147,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,618,000 after buying an additional 140,886 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $25,773,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $42,765,000 after buying an additional 98,275 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,734,854.40. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total transaction of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,973,188.84. This trade represents a 36.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 124,754 shares of company stock worth $29,397,793. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BR stock opened at $237.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 1.05. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.30 and a fifty-two week high of $246.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $236.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.22.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 44.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Broadridge Financial Solutions 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.