Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Hardy Reed LLC

Hardy Reed LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 67.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,130 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $22.23 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources 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.