Summit Trail Advisors LLC Buys 1,256 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,586 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,098 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,340 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 541,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 72,564 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 85,536 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 9,801 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $363,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now 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. Insiders have acquired a total of 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. 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 objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $21.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.35. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its 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 net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given 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 5.90%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 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.