Swedbank AB Raises Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Swedbank AB boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $974,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 18,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 9,245 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $1,347,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.9% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 3,426 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on 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. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.73.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.98 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.48.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.