Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Position Increased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 52.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 44,721 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,434,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,971,000 after buying 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 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,149 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought 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 directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,020.11. This represents a 14.23 % 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 quarter. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $22.40 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. TD Cowen decreased their target price on 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 decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources 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.