Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,215,412 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 125,262 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.23% of Franklin Resources worth $27,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BEN shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.91.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BEN opened at $19.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.38%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 331,600 shares of company stock valued at $7,189,637 in the last three months. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.