30,950 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by BankPlus Trust Department

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 30,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $83,204,000 after buying an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $46,400,000 after buying an additional 533,192 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $35.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.64. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.79. The company has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, CFO Matthew Nicholls sold 160,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total value of $5,792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 774,348 shares in the company, valued at $28,031,397.60. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.78.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.