BNP Paribas Financial Markets Decreases Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 412,018 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 116,702 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.08% of Franklin Resources worth $8,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.20.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:BEN traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.38. 1,265,186 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,996,349. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.93 and a 200 day moving average of $21.67. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. 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 previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Company 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.