Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.33.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

BR stock opened at $214.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.64. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1-year low of $166.73 and a 1-year high of $224.32.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 42.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. This is a positive change from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.07%.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, VP Laura Matlin sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, President Christopher John Perry sold 17,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.41, for a total value of $3,741,930.94. Following the sale, the president now owns 50,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,721,078.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $145,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,480. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,386 shares of company stock worth $28,112,824 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 39,537 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,168,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $853,898,000 after buying an additional 28,180 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,970 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,496,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $306,609,000 after buying an additional 43,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,108,867 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $218,447,000 after buying an additional 6,634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

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.