Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $944,000 Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 39.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,836 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,175 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 250.7% in 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. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 110.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,279,000 after purchasing an additional 851,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 325.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 906,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $20,255,000 after purchasing an additional 693,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. 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 results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently 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 for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.66.

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.