Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,196 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 5,020 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank raised its position in Franklin Resources by 0.3% in the first quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 234,491 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $6,592,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Six 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $21.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.25 and a 200-day moving average of $21.95. The stock has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.19%.

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.