BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 237,890 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 84.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,500 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 237,890 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of 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, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 331,600 shares of company stock worth $7,189,637. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $20.24 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $22.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.17. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.50 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

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.