B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Acquires New Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,145 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 1.0% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,089,487 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $21,953,000 after acquiring an additional 10,360 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 257,503 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,189,000 after purchasing an additional 12,219 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 217,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,384,000 after buying an additional 41,247 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,203 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 4,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 65.2% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,898 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 12,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $21.96 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted 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 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 212,700 shares of company stock worth $4,141,682 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.