Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 30,894 Shares of Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) by 17.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,894 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Axos Financial worth $9,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 26.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,549,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,568,000 after buying an additional 321,494 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Axos Financial by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,154,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,610,000 after acquiring an additional 292,952 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 107.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 367,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,988,000 after purchasing an additional 190,584 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 5.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,178,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,877,000 after purchasing an additional 164,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,861,000 after purchasing an additional 91,797 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward James Ratinoff sold 4,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total transaction of $317,798.82. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,669,456.69. This trade represents a 7.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.89, for a total value of $10,236,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,340,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,763,472.53. This represents a 8.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.07% of the company’s stock.

Axos Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE AX opened at $71.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Axos Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.10 and a 12 month high of $88.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.19.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.16. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 24.07%. The company had revenue of $512.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AX. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Axos Financial from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com raised Axos Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Axos Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $74.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.20.

Axos Financial Company Profile

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.