Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 491,815 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 40,800 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.09% of Franklin Resources worth $9,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 15.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,473 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 8,712 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 12.4% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,252 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 39,351 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 166,227 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $4,673,000 after acquiring an additional 8,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in Franklin Resources by 24.4% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 11,778 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on BEN
Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources
In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 $1,596,245.49. 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 related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.
Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.5 %
Shares of BEN traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.98. The company had a trading volume of 863,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,039,832. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. 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 posted its 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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Franklin Resources Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.19%.
About Franklin Resources
(
Free Report)
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.
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