Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Altrius Capital Management Inc

Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,306 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BEN shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, 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 bought a total of 431,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,097,637 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

BEN stock opened at $20.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

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.