BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 77,652 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 38.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 77,652 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.05% of Franklin Resources worth $7,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 708,050 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $21,093,000 after purchasing an additional 147,497 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $49,547,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 170,089 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,100 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 38,919 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 220.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 59,616 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 41,024 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.50 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.46. The company had a trading volume of 121,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,624,937. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.57 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

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.