XTX Topco Ltd Increases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 158.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 25,014 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Franklin Resources’s 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.