Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Buys 156,595 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,780 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 156,595 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Franklin Resources worth $8,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 115.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 20,780 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 11,128 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 265,232 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,928,000 after buying an additional 66,007 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,143 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,341 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.9% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 16,644 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,988,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,396,923. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.06 and its 200-day moving average is $21.64. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.84%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last 90 days. 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.