Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 16,121,459 Shares of Franklin Financial Services Corp. $FRAF

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF) by 391,773.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,125,574 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,121,459 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 359.95% of Franklin Financial Services worth $809,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FRAF. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 51,407 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 34,982 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Financial Services in the third quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $571,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Financial Services in the first quarter worth approximately $529,000. Institutional investors own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Financial Services Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of Franklin Financial Services stock opened at $54.41 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.30 million, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of -0.01. Franklin Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $33.44 and a 1-year high of $60.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $23.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Franklin Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FRAF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Financial Services from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Company Profile

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.