16,041 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,041 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 14.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 128,240 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after buying an additional 16,347 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 45.3% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 85,703 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 26,735 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 173.1% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 73,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 46,469 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.1% during the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 11,746 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.45. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.20. The company has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced 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 net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

About Franklin Resources

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.