Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,879 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 806 shares during the period. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 85,536 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 37.7% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 9,801 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $363,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 158.8% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 40,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 25,014 shares during the period. Finally, Gifford Fong Associates raised its position in Franklin Resources by 114.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gifford Fong Associates now owns 140,480 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $20.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated 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. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.