Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $242.70 and last traded at $241.98, with a volume of 43524 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $240.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BR has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $231.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.04. The stock has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95 and a beta of 1.08.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brett Keller sold 5,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $1,308,256.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,854.40. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 15,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total value of $3,618,327.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,466.72. The trade was a 56.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,666 shares of company stock valued at $5,050,766. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,904,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,466,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 882.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 437,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,186,000 after acquiring an additional 392,695 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,746,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3,197.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,945,000 after acquiring an additional 198,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.