43,693 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 43,693 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,681,000 after buying an additional 32,490 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,259 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.97 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.61. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 148.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.