Hardy Reed LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 67.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,130 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the quarter. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cadence Bank lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 401,128 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $8,083,000 after acquiring an additional 162,257 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 27.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,678 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 8,468 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 73.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 258,044 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,200,000 after purchasing an additional 109,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 36,289 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 9,111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.2 %

BEN stock opened at $22.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.78 and a 200 day moving average of $21.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 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.