MFA Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,267 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $710,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 170,089 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 278,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,758,000 after purchasing an additional 88,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,385 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $20.09 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.30. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,341.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.