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

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BR stock opened at $237.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $27.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $233.55 and a 200-day moving average of $223.96. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12-month low of $188.30 and a 12-month high of $244.47.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total transaction of $124,182.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,043.20. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,854.40. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,666 shares of company stock worth $5,050,766 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2,028.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 246.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.