Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,497 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE BEN opened at $21.48 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.77. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results 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). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.