Code Waechter LLC Invests $936,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Code Waechter LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 46,456 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,449,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,016,326. The company has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.73. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 76.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.43.

Franklin Resources Company 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.