Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 78.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 461,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $9,292,000 after purchasing an additional 108,156 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $779,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 615,925 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,411,000 after acquiring an additional 122,300 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last three months. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $22.70 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.