ORG Wealth Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $127,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after acquiring an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.54 and a 200-day moving average of $22.61. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 70.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.33.

Franklin Resources Company 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.