Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Holdings Reduced by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,705 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 3,618 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.1 %

BEN stock opened at $21.29 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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 9.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Company 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.