Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 42.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,966 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,626 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up about 1.3% of Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 9.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $21.64 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.60 and a 200-day moving average of $21.77. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.73%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

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.