Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by AlphaCore Capital LLC

AlphaCore Capital LLC decreased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 46.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,902 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 8,536 shares during the quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% during 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 during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.8% in the second 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 last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 212,700 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,682 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.1 %

BEN stock opened at $21.96 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. 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 market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.76.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.