Blueshift Asset Management LLC Purchases 4,861 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 41.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,614 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,861 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BEN. Interval Partners LP raised its position in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 88,195 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.5% in 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. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.8% during the second quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,149 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.68 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.86 and a 200-day moving average of $21.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

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.