ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 676,760 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 1.35% of Franklin Resources worth $158,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $20.81 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $21.47 and its 200-day moving average is $23.48. The stock has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.96%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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.