Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,156 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Franklin Resources worth $9,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $22.23 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

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.