Insight Folios Inc Has $1.15 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Insight Folios Inc lessened its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,964 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 3,781 shares during the quarter. Insight Folios Inc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Tobam increased its position in Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.21 on Thursday, reaching $22.44. 1,828,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,244,831. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.57 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.02. The stock has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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.