Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $7,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,758,000 after buying an additional 88,700 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,320,000 after buying an additional 4,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 97,636 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after acquiring an additional 27,193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.56 and a 200 day moving average of $21.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

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.