Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $1.64 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lowered its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 46.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,410 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 71,821 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 13,457 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 169,964 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $3,425,000 after buying an additional 83,218 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,667 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 12,336 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 397,780 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $8,015,000 after buying an additional 156,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $25,998,000 after buying an additional 560,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.39. The company had a trading volume of 7,013,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,029,552. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEN. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.39.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.

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.