Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $238.00 and last traded at $238.00, with a volume of 921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $246.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.43.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.83 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its quarterly 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. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 60.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Christopher John Perry sold 17,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.41, for a total value of $3,741,930.94. Following the transaction, the president now owns 50,237 shares in the company, valued at $10,721,078.17. This trade represents a 25.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard J. Daly sold 21,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.66, for a total value of $4,555,645.08. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 105,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,823,820.04. This represents a 17.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 78,294 shares of company stock worth $16,944,095 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 17,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.