Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 68,359 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 33.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,359 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $3,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Premier Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Premier Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Premier Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $84,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Premier Financial during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 42.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Premier Financial

In other Premier Financial news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $55,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

PFC stock opened at $26.29 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95. Premier Financial Corp. has a one year low of $18.63 and a one year high of $29.63. The firm has a market cap of $942.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.27.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.94%.

Premier Financial Profile

Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers demand, checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposits and certificates of deposit account registry service; and investment products. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial, construction, home improvement and home equity, installment, and consumer loans.