State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $705,000 Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,997 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 2,430 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 15.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,473 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after buying an additional 8,712 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 12.4% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,252 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 39,351 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 157.1% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 36,821 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 22,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 5.6% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 166,227 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after purchasing an additional 8,748 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE BEN opened at $21.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.95. 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 Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Franklin Resources 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.