Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 61,999 Shares of ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI - Free Report) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 445,746 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,999 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.31% of ATI worth $27,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATI. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ATI by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,952,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $130,709,000 after acquiring an additional 5,165 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ATI by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in ATI by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in ATI during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,800,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in ATI by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 560,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,517,000 after purchasing an additional 61,873 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ATI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of ATI from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on ATI from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded ATI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on ATI from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of ATI from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.71.

Insider Activity at ATI

In other news, Chairman Robert S. Wetherbee sold 25,000 shares of ATI stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.99, for a total value of $1,474,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 436,443 shares in the company, valued at $25,745,772.57. This trade represents a 5.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tina Killough Busch sold 2,598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $155,931.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,611.06. This trade represents a 10.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,598 shares of company stock worth $3,186,432. Insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

ATI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATI traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $54.23. 2,142,868 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,444,451. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.09. ATI Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.04 and a 52 week high of $68.92.

ATI (NYSE:ATI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.06). ATI had a return on equity of 21.39% and a net margin of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that ATI Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

ATI announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

ATI Profile

ATI Inc produces and sells specialty materials and complex components worldwide. It operates in two segments: High Performance Materials & Components (HPMC) and Advanced Alloys & Solutions (AA&S). The HPMC segment produces various materials, including titanium and titanium-based alloys, nickel- and cobalt-based alloys and superalloys, metallic powder alloys, advanced powder alloys and other specialty materials, in long product forms, such as ingot, billet, bar, rod, wire, shapes and rectangles, and seamless tubes, as well as precision forgings, components, and machined parts.