Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,196 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 5,020 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $21.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.95. 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 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources 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.