TD Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,925 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 4,774 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,532,069 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $929,900,000 after buying an additional 933,075 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,613,180 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $288,455,000 after purchasing an additional 701,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,140,085 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $171,673,000 after purchasing an additional 144,639 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,487,563 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $150,289,000 after purchasing an additional 224,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,567,022 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $85,969,000 after purchasing an additional 40,141 shares in the last quarter. 43.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources
In other Franklin Resources news, EVP Jed A. Plafker sold 19,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.02, for a total value of $556,197.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 129,101 shares in the company, valued at $3,746,511.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc acquired 56,123 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.32 per share, for a total transaction of $242,451.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,255.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jed A. Plafker sold 19,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.02, for a total value of $556,197.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 129,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,746,511.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 3,797,252 shares of company stock worth $33,344,686 and sold 77,502 shares worth $2,216,491. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.
Franklin Resources Price Performance
Shares of BEN stock opened at $26.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $38.27. The company has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.55.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 20.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Franklin Resources Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.52%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Franklin Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.88.
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.
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