Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys Shares of 72,507 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 72,507 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,461,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,013,272. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $21.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 over the last three months. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.

About Franklin Resources

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.