Cwm LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Cwm LLC lowered its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,142 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 2,638 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 600,623 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,103,000 after purchasing an additional 113,976 shares in the last quarter. RK Asset Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the third quarter. RK Asset Management LLC now owns 159,672 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,217,000 after buying an additional 4,686 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 62,858 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715 shares during the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 51,788 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,591 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 6,557 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $20.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.41. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 2.29 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.86%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.73.

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.