Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $250.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BR. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $246.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.43.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $230.24 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.27. 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 $185.30 and a 12 month high of $230.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.05.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 10,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.82, for a total transaction of $2,439,902.74. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,118.98. This trade represents a 45.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.02, for a total value of $880,837.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,308,431.76. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,294 shares of company stock worth $16,944,095. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,837 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 5.1% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 9.7% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 29,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,373,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares during the period. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,954,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,168,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $853,898,000 after buying an additional 28,180 shares during the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.