Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Position Trimmed by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 5,572 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 110,394 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 315.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 540,465 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,890,000 after purchasing an additional 410,286 shares during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,867 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 491,815 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $9,910,000 after purchasing an additional 40,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,646 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,973 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 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 insiders.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.06 on Friday. 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 $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

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.