Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) Given New $256.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $261.00 to $256.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.83.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $218.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98 and a beta of 0.96. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a twelve month low of $212.33 and a twelve month high of $271.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.94.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 43.28% and a net margin of 13.11%. Equities research analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 84,571 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.53, for a total transaction of $21,948,711.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 165,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,986,992.02. The trade was a 33.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Christopher John Perry sold 7,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.72, for a total transaction of $1,848,497.92. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 48,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,824,151.36. This trade represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,532 shares of company stock valued at $38,417,208. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadridge Financial Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,031,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,653,086,000 after buying an additional 298,273 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,642,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,376,006,000 after acquiring an additional 35,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,292,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $797,031,000 after acquiring an additional 136,386 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,751,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $425,610,000 after acquiring an additional 61,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,466,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $356,470,000 after purchasing an additional 36,355 shares during the period. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.