Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Playtika Holding Corp. $PLTK

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 274,583 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118,409 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Playtika worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Playtika by 366.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,547,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,989,000 after buying an additional 1,215,843 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Playtika by 143.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 719,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,719,000 after acquiring an additional 423,738 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Playtika by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,667,000 after purchasing an additional 137,482 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Playtika in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $478,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Playtika by 98.4% in the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 256,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 126,990 shares during the period. 11.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Playtika Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PLTK opened at $4.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.84. Playtika Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $3.31 and a 52 week high of $8.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.14.

Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. Playtika had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 114.44%. The company had revenue of $674.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.60 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Playtika Holding Corp. will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Playtika Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.4%. Playtika’s payout ratio is currently 166.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLTK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Playtika from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Loop Capital set a $3.75 target price on shares of Playtika in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Playtika from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Playtika from $5.50 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Playtika in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Playtika presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Playtika Company Profile

Playtika Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops mobile games in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia pacific, and internationally. The company owns a portfolio of casual and social casino-themed games. It distributes its games to the end customer through various web and mobile platforms and direct-to-consumer platforms.