482,233 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Bought by Qube Research & Technologies Ltd

Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 482,233 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $13,464,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.50% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $27.65 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $38.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.09. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.52%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc bought 56,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.32 per share, for a total transaction of $242,451.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 271,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,171,255.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Mariann H. Byerwalter sold 3,135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.37, for a total value of $73,264.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,523 shares in the company, valued at $269,292.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc acquired 56,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.32 per share, with a total value of $242,451.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 271,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,255.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 3,063,002 shares of company stock worth $29,868,748. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEN. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $44.50 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.38.

Franklin Resources Profile

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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.