V Square Quantitative Management LLC Buys 5,190 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 40.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,092 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,082 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.44 and its 200 day moving average is $22.45. 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.73.

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.