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

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

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $239.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BR opened at $204.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $164.99 and a fifty-two week high of $211.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.38. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 1.04.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.01). Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 40.88%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.61%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total transaction of $501,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,944.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total value of $501,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,944.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.06, for a total transaction of $687,862.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,473,779.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BR. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 90.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

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.