Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 11,371 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 806,901 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 11,371 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Franklin Resources worth $16,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $21.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its 200 day moving average is $21.79. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted 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 net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

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.