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

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

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR stock opened at $227.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $225.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.57. The company has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12-month low of $188.30 and a 12-month high of $237.96.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 41.79%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 60.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total value of $880,837.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,308,431.76. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total value of $3,618,327.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,466.72. This trade represents a 56.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,532 shares of company stock worth $12,264,846. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BR. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 26,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,136,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 8.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 11.4% during the second quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,375,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.