Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 301.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,074 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 3,810 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.4% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.43.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.38 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. 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 released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. 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.