Sigma Planning Corp Decreases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,191 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 9,154 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BEN. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.67 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.