Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Stock Position Increased by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 87.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 153,323 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,378 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $5,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $35,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, CFO Matthew Nicholls sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total value of $5,792,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 774,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,031,397.60. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $35.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.59. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $36.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. UBS Group started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (up from $37.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.78.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.