Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 24,396 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $31,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $36,279,000 after acquiring an additional 851,442 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 325.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 906,270 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $20,255,000 after acquiring an additional 693,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.97. 1,229,440 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,011,784. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.67. 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 (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. 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 5.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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 issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.

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.