Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,289 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,877 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $299,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,547,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1,054.9% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,321 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 13,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 917,963 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,346,000 after buying an additional 78,175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm 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.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.96%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

About Franklin Resources

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.