Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,457 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 27,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 32,904 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.88 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.47. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock 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.