Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BR. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI reissued an outperform rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE BR opened at $194.05 on Friday. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12 month low of $140.06 and a 12 month high of $210.24. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.46.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.12% and a net margin of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 55.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total value of $167,311.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,097,603.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,483 shares of company stock valued at $9,745,637 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BR. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 217.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,696,000 after buying an additional 6,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.03% of the company’s stock.

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.