Foster & Motley Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,705 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 3,618 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $21.29 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Franklin Resources

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.