Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $1.02 Million Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,279,000 after buying an additional 851,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 325.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 906,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $20,255,000 after buying an additional 693,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $22.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.72. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, 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 acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

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.