Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 138,524 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1,341.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,848 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 138,524 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 431,600 shares of company stock worth $9,097,637. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.12 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.64.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

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.