Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $244.58 and last traded at $244.03, with a volume of 38465 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $241.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BR. StockNews.com cut shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadridge Financial Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $234.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.24. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 44.40% and a net margin of 11.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 55.09%.

Insider Transactions at Broadridge Financial Solutions

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,854.40. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 514 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.60, for a total transaction of $124,182.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,602 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,043.20. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,441 shares of company stock worth $1,547,835. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,294,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,231,904,000 after purchasing an additional 74,674 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,181,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,644,000 after buying an additional 51,439 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,560,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,952,000 after buying an additional 1,186,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,037,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $684,971,000 after buying an additional 37,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,649,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $378,175,000 after acquiring an additional 43,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.