Gifford Fong Associates Purchases 75,000 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Gifford Fong Associates boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 114.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,480 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Gifford Fong Associates’ holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 309.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,883 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 14,596 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $299,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $91,398,000 after purchasing an additional 154,850 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $49,547,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 431,600 shares of company stock worth $9,097,637. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. 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 fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business 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%. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid 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 yield of 6.08%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.