135,772 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Acquired by SpiderRock Advisors LLC

SpiderRock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 135,772 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $2,736,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 8,712 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Franklin Resources by 10.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 68,766 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,933,000 after buying an additional 6,420 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $305,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 170,089 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.2 %

BEN traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.04. 2,606,534 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,642,455. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company'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 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 144.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given 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 Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company'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 transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company'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 transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.