Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 110.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 851,442 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $36,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BEN. CWM LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.9% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.85.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 in the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE BEN opened at $19.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.07.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 70.86%.

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.