Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,089,487 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $21,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $1,538,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in Franklin Resources by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,758,000 after purchasing an additional 88,700 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 38.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 97,636 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after buying an additional 27,193 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 9.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $21.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.79. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company 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%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.