Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 32,490 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $7,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 owns 89,308,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.64. 4,115,199 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,021,084. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

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.