Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Holdings Boosted by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 65.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,898 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,592 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $21.49 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.85.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. 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 presently 144.19%.

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.