Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,786 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 23,599 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.0% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,567 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $990,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 66,245 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after buying an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,473 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after buying an additional 8,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 522,985 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $14,701,000 after acquiring an additional 73,245 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.3 %

BEN opened at $20.84 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.02. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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, October 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.43.

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.