2,298 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,298 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI lowered 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, StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This represents a 0.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $21.80 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.52 and its 200-day moving average is $21.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 5.69%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

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.