Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $247.23 and last traded at $247.42, with a volume of 131213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $259.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $250.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.20 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $240.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.93.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 44.82%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 52.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hope M. Jarkowski sold 1,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.22, for a total value of $251,214.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,685.40. This trade represents a 49.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 5,056 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.55, for a total transaction of $1,211,164.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,070,554.85. This represents a 19.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,116 shares of company stock valued at $4,352,298 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,733,147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,572,199,000 after buying an additional 438,381 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,560,316 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $804,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,037,015 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $684,971,000 after purchasing an additional 37,141 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,689,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $409,662,000 after acquiring an additional 39,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,648,527 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $372,713,000 after acquiring an additional 40,506 shares in 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.