Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 9,801 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,801 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $363,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 158.8% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 40,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 25,014 shares during the last quarter. Gifford Fong Associates raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 114.5% in the second quarter. Gifford Fong Associates now owns 140,480 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,140,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 176,306 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 870,318 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $19,432,000 after acquiring an additional 316,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.0 %

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

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.31 dividend. 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 currently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 in the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.