Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,931 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $19.90 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 431,600 shares of company stock worth $9,097,637 in the last ninety days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources 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.