Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

BR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James boosted 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. DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $206.67.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BR traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.85. 437,685 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 12-month low of $144.54 and a 12-month high of $210.24. The company has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.16.

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

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $4,521,678.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 22,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $4,521,678.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,891,320. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.58, for a total transaction of $167,311.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,445 shares in the company, valued at $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 worth $9,745,637 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.5% in the first quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,795,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 58 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.