Prana Capital Management LP Has $297,000 Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Prana Capital Management LP decreased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,743 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 557,885 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BEN opened at $22.40 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.96 and a 200-day moving average of $21.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly 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). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last three months. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company 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.