Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Holdings Decreased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,533 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 517.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,431,000 after buying an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third 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. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 110.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,279,000 after acquiring an additional 851,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 325.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 906,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $20,255,000 after acquiring an additional 693,074 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Resources news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.97 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued 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). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

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.