UBS Group Begins Coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR)

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $250.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $246.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.43.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $230.24 on Thursday. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a one year low of $185.30 and a one year high of $230.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $217.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.27.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.90%.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Chairman Richard J. Daly sold 21,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.66, for a total value of $4,555,645.08. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 105,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,823,820.04. The trade was a 17.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total value of $880,837.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,308,431.76. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,294 shares of company stock worth $16,944,095 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Unigestion Holding SA grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 20.3% in the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 5,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC increased its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 12,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,736,000 after buying an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 60,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,984,000 after buying an additional 11,684 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $1,450,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

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.