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

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,966 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,626 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources comprises about 1.3% of Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $1,538,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 2nd 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 97,636 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,731,000 after buying an additional 27,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 32,904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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, BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.77. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.73%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.