Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 272,427 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 10,538 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,591 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 6,557 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,841 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,876 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $464,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 35,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.93.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.86%.

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.