Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Lowers Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,216 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 9,509 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Power Corp of Canada increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after buying an additional 4,043,808 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $49,547,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,322.5% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after acquiring an additional 833,113 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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 data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.0 %

BEN stock opened at $20.62 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.35. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 in the last three months. Corporate 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.