Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 541,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,564 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $12,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada increased its position in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Franklin Resources by 17.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,801,732 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,269,000 after acquiring an additional 411,845 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.47 and a 200-day moving average of $23.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.