SkyView Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,876 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction 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. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.79 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.19. 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 $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week 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 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 business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.96%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.