Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Buys 4,732 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,788 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,732 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,538,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 583.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 170,089 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Franklin Resources by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,758,000 after purchasing an additional 88,700 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.85.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.05 and a 200 day moving average of $23.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.