Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,444 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.49 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.53. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. 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 company has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.25%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.