Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $226.71.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR opened at $226.01 on Friday. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1 year low of $188.30 and a 1 year high of $237.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $225.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.78.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company 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. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 60.90%.

Insider Activity at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total transaction of $5,325,778.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,975,838.77. This represents a 47.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 10,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.82, for a total transaction of $2,439,902.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,118.98. The trade was a 45.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock worth $12,264,846. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 384.0% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the second quarter worth about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other 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.