Tredje AP fonden Sells 730 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,016 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Power Corp of Canada raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $49,547,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,322.5% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 833,113 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $20.81 on Friday. 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 $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 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.