Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Given New $175.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BRFree Report) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

BR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $169.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $170.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BR

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $181.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39 and a beta of 1.02. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1-year low of $131.35 and a 1-year high of $183.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.62 and a 200-day moving average of $152.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BRGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.11. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 42.09% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This is a boost from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s payout ratio is 54.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laura Matlin sold 4,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total transaction of $622,913.96. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,477.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Leslie A. Brun sold 6,900 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.98, for a total value of $1,027,962.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 59,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,926,285.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laura Matlin sold 4,052 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.73, for a total transaction of $622,913.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,825 shares in the company, valued at $895,477.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,179 shares of company stock valued at $8,158,444 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BR. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,043,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $944,766,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048,184 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,230,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $299,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,907 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,712,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $614,559,000 after buying an additional 943,718 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 86.6% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,195,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,122,000 after buying an additional 554,807 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 14,557.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 472,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 469,172 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

(Get Free Report)

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.

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