Citigroup Inc. Boosts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 24.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 615,925 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,300 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.12% of Franklin Resources worth $12,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $41,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of 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 given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.68 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.73.

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

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.