Lewis Asset Management LLC Takes $220,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Lewis Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,912 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at about $1,538,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% in the first 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 46.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,758,000 after acquiring an additional 88,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $21.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources 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.