Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Downgraded 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 released on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated 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 upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.00.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

BR opened at $232.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.21. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a one year low of $188.30 and a one year high of $247.01.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.09%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 95,956 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.43, for a total value of $22,590,921.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,973,188.84. This trade represents a 36.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.93, for a total transaction of $115,396.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,180,132.80. The trade was a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,754 shares of company stock valued at $29,397,793 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Wealth Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $201,000. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the first quarter worth $432,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $202,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 5,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.4% during the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 60 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.