Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $226.71.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $246.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 10,757 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.82, for a total value of $2,439,902.74. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,878,118.98. This trade represents a 45.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 24,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.21, for a total value of $5,325,778.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,975,838.77. This represents a 47.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,264,846. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,417,000 after acquiring an additional 72,018 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 7.4% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.6% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BR opened at $228.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $228.96 and a 200 day moving average of $217.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a twelve month low of $188.30 and a twelve month high of $237.96. The company has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 41.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.90%.

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.