Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Position Boosted by Power Corp of Canada

Power Corp of Canada lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,269,966 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 47,744 shares during the period. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 92.5% of Power Corp of Canada’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Power Corp of Canada owned 6.16% of Franklin Resources worth $650,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $22.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.