Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 22.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 412,018 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 116,702 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $8,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BEN. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 22.9% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,213,663 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,605,000 after acquiring an additional 411,931 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BEN. UBS Group decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.60 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company 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.