SpiderRock Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 135,772 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 135,772 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $2,736,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.04 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.29 and a 200-day moving average of $21.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were 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 owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.