Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,323 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 68,056 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Franklin Resources worth $6,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 212,700 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,682 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.96 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 capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.76.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid 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 5.65%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 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.