Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Shares Down 4.4% - What's Next?

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR - Get Free Report) shares traded down 4.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $239.19 and last traded at $234.07. 72,977 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 523,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued 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 began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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 50 day moving average price of $239.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.63. The firm has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Broadridge Financial Solutions's payout ratio is currently 52.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maura A. Markus sold 3,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.08, for a total transaction of $864,392.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,509,227.36. This represents a 10.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela L. Carter sold 4,829 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.23, for a total value of $1,169,728.67. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,242 shares in the company, valued at $1,754,229.66. This represents a 40.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,116 shares of company stock worth $4,352,298 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadridge Financial Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,733,147 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,572,199,000 after purchasing an additional 438,381 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 50.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,186,555 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 1.2% in the fourth 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 39,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,648,527 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $372,713,000 after buying an additional 40,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.