Blue Trust Inc. Buys 1,148 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 124.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $46,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 387.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.06. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.43.

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.