Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) by 20.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 395,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,239 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.23% of Huron Consulting Group worth $42,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HURN. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Huron Consulting Group during the second quarter worth about $219,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Huron Consulting Group by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 84,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,346,000 after purchasing an additional 6,540 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in Huron Consulting Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,202,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Huron Consulting Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,379,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Huron Consulting Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ HURN opened at $120.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.58. Huron Consulting Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.26 and a 1 year high of $131.06.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. Huron Consulting Group had a return on equity of 21.51% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $370.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huron Consulting Group Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.27, for a total transaction of $112,817.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,840 shares in the company, valued at $3,122,506.80. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James H. Roth sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.70, for a total transaction of $247,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,825 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,452.50. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,126 shares of company stock valued at $865,710 over the last 90 days. 2.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HURN has been the subject of several research reports. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of Huron Consulting Group from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Huron Consulting Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Huron Consulting Group Profile

Huron Consulting Group Inc, a professional services firm, provides consultancy services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Education, and Commercial. The Healthcare segment provides financial and operational performance improvement consulting services; digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services; software products; organizational transformation services; revenue cycle managed and outsourcing services; financial and capital advisory consulting services; and strategy and innovation consulting services to national and regional health systems, academic and community health systems, federal health system, public, children’s and critical access hospitals, physician practices and medical groups, payors, and long-term care or post-acute providers.