Steven Butz Sells 1,400 Shares of Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Stock

Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF) EVP Steven Butz sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total transaction of $80,822.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,865.30. This trade represents a 19.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Franklin Financial Services Trading Down 3.6%

FRAF stock traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $56.03. 5,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,982. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.55 million and a P/E ratio of 10.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.59. Franklin Financial Services Corp. has a 12-month low of $33.44 and a 12-month high of $60.00.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.30 million. Franklin Financial Services had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 14.13%.

Franklin Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Franklin Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Franklin Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRAF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Financial Services from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 391,773.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,125,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,504,000 after acquiring an additional 16,121,459 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 109.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 51,407 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 333.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 45,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 34,982 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 64.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 29,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ: FRAF) is a U.S.‐listed specialty finance company that makes and acquires secured loans, with a focus on asset-based lending and mortgage warehouse financing. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, FFS Investment Company, a Maryland corporation regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Franklin Financial provides revolving lines of credit, term loans and other credit facilities secured primarily by residential and commercial mortgage loans, receivables and inventory.