GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 725 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $29.41.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its 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). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm 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 company earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.73.

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.