Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.33.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $214.03 on Thursday. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a twelve month low of $166.73 and a twelve month high of $224.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52 and a beta of 1.05.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 60.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Christopher John Perry sold 17,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.41, for a total value of $3,741,930.94. Following the transaction, the president now owns 50,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,721,078.17. 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 accessible through this link. In other news, VP Laura Matlin sold 673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $145,368.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,480. 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 accessible through this link. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 17,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.41, for a total transaction of $3,741,930.94. Following the transaction, the president now owns 50,237 shares in the company, valued at $10,721,078.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,386 shares of company stock valued at $28,112,824 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BR. New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the first quarter worth $1,465,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 108.7% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 83,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,192,000 after buying an additional 43,710 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 99.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,627,000 after buying an additional 8,837 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 72.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.1% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,329,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.