1,225 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Purchased by Altshuler Shaham Ltd

Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $20.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.45. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 5.96%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.