Amalgamated Bank Trims Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 28.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,736 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 23,665 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.53 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.82. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.76%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

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.