Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 95.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 169,964 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,218 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew 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 buying an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third 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 buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 851,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 693,074 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $21.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 148.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.