BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC Raises Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 145.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 296,025 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 175,420 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC owned approximately 0.06% of Franklin Resources worth $7,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $25,000. RFP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 85.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,240 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 46.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.88 and a fifty-two week high of $34.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.64.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.24. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 69.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.75.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, Director Mariann H. Byerwalter sold 6,011 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $144,324.11. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,960.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.