State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,310 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 57,471 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,931 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.0% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 110,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 10,047 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.9% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 16,750 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 84.6% in the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 15,250 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Barclays initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.51.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.