Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 73.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,044 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,196 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $5,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Interval Partners LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.8% in the second quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,149 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $22.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.78 and its 200-day moving average is $21.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.