Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 1,041.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,334 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 211,073 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.9% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,213,663 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $44,605,000 after purchasing an additional 411,931 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.2 %

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.67. 8,167,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,021,628. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.65%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.