Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 1,041.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,334 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 211,073 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $1,024,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,596,762 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $32,175,000 after buying an additional 22,228 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 53,951 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 130,424 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,628,000 after buying an additional 44,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $1,857,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.
In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company's stock.
Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $22.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $30.32.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on 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.
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