Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Auxier Asset Management

Auxier Asset Management reduced its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 56,723 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 855 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 250.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the second 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,279,000 after purchasing an additional 851,442 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 325.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 906,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $20,255,000 after buying an additional 693,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BEN. UBS Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $22.68 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.73. The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.