Toronto Dominion Bank Boosts Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 74.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,079 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 64,383 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,820,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,015,636. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.59. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company 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 9.62%. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.85%. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.

About Franklin Resources

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.