Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,089,487 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 10,360 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.21% of Franklin Resources worth $21,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 234,491 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $6,592,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.67 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.79. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.72%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

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.