Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 29,640 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 178,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 29,640 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in J.Jill were worth $4,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in J.Jill by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 106,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.Jill by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 78,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,267 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.20.

Insider Transactions at J.Jill

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 132,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,686.85. This represents a 3.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Stock Performance

J.Jill stock opened at $16.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $250.75 million, a P/E ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.32. J.Jill, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.05 and a 1-year high of $40.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.15 and a 200-day moving average of $24.41.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business had revenue of $94.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.33 million. Sell-side analysts expect that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. J.Jill’s payout ratio is presently 12.12%.

J.Jill Profile

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.