Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Major Shareholder Buys $4,560,000.00 in Stock

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $22.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.44. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.57 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.23.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Power Corp of Canada raised its position in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $793,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043,808 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,547,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,322.5% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 833,113 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

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.