M&G Plc Invests $306,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

M&G Plc bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,907 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE BEN opened at $21.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.