Sei Investments Co. Purchases 2,340 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,098 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,514 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $974,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.80. The company has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 70.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.