UMB Bank n.a. Raises Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 387.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE BEN opened at $20.13 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.54 and a 200-day moving average of $22.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.33.

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.