Creative Planning Decreases Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Creative Planning trimmed its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 22.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 4,517 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 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 Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 387.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $21.06 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $20.29 and a 200-day moving average of $21.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.