Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Invests $101,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,994 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.25 and its 200-day moving average is $21.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.53 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 144.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 18,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company 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.