Two Sigma Advisers LP Increases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 76.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 560,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.25% of Franklin Resources worth $25,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 stock was 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,988,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,396,923. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.39.

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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

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