95,894 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Bought by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 95,894 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,990,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,149 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.2 %

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.91. 2,988,071 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,019,624. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $21.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.67. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 144.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.