92,162 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Purchased by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 92,162 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,857,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Interval Partners LP grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,149 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $22.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.72. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

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.