Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on BR. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 0.1 %

BR opened at $238.82 on Wednesday. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12 month low of $188.30 and a 12 month high of $244.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $232.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $3,618,327.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,797,466.72. This represents a 56.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $1,308,256.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,734,854.40. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,666 shares of company stock valued at $5,050,766 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BR. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 62,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,147,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $463,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,043,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,840,000 after buying an additional 138,207 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $2,092,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. 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.