Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 600,623 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 113,976 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC. owned approximately 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $12,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,008,853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 676,760 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.
In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction 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 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 over the last three months. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.
Shares of BEN stock opened at $19.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.94.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.
Several research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.93.
Read Our Latest Research Report on 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.
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