AIA Group Ltd Acquires 2,060 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,282 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $21.04 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.29 and a 200-day moving average of $21.92. 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 has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents 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, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 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 brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

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.