Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Given New $224.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $213.00 to $224.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $239.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Broadridge Financial Solutions from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $213.17.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BR traded up $4.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $216.29. The company had a trading volume of 39,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,934. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 52 week low of $166.73 and a 52 week high of $223.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $203.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.25. The stock has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 40.88% and a net margin of 10.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is an increase from Broadridge Financial Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total value of $501,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,944.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.40, for a total value of $501,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,944.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 3,473 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.06, for a total transaction of $687,862.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,473,779.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 52,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $227,750,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $364,000. 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.