Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 1,646 Shares of Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,823 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in BOX were worth $712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in BOX by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,815 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $44,900,000 after acquiring an additional 134,175 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of BOX by 16.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 351,850 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $9,514,000 after acquiring an additional 48,633 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of BOX in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,221,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in BOX during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,021,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new position in BOX during the 3rd quarter worth about $615,000. Institutional investors own 86.74% of the company’s stock.

BOX Stock Down 0.4 %

BOX opened at $32.02 on Monday. Box, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.28 and a 52-week high of $35.74. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at BOX

In related news, COO Olivia Nottebohm sold 12,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total transaction of $395,385.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 453,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,432,700.10. This represents a 2.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Eli Berkovitch sold 4,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.46, for a total transaction of $155,548.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 140,172 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,983.12. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,442,284 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BOX from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on BOX in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of BOX in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BOX from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of BOX in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BOX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.89.

About BOX

Box, Inc provides a cloud content management platform that enables organizations of various sizes to manage and share their content from anywhere on any device. The company's Software-as-a-Service platform enables users to work with their content as they need from secure external collaboration and sharing, workspaces and portals, e-signature processes, and content workflows improving employee productivity and accelerating business processes.