Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 357,960 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) by 29.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,560,104 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 357,960 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Franklin Resources worth $33,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 413.2% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, NuWave Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 45.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc bought 55,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.15 per share, for a total transaction of $230,723.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 9,844,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,854,255.85. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 341,388 shares of company stock worth $1,444,953 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $30.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.22. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.24 and a 12 month high of $33.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.29 and its 200 day moving average is $25.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 15.16%. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 30th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

About Franklin Resources

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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.