Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 34.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,191 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 9,154 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Power Corp of Canada boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after buying an additional 1,178,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,279,000 after acquiring an additional 851,442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.67 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.72%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

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.