DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $1.47 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 27.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,275 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 15,688 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. UBS Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.84 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.06. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

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.