Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,736 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 23,665 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BEN. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $7,758,000 after buying an additional 88,700 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 4,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 86.8% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 374,558 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $10,529,000 after acquiring an additional 174,071 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $21.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,391,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,020,739. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.82. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.19%.

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.