Fmr LLC Has $800,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Fmr LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,678 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 8,468 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. 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 acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.38 and a 200-day moving average of $21.57. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.84%.

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.