Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Power Corp of Canada increased its position in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after acquiring an additional 31,385,293 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043,808 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,547,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 2,322.5% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after buying an additional 833,113 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.45.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 331,600 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,637. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.4 %

BEN stock opened at $20.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.82. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.50 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.25. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

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.