Auxier Asset Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,723 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 855 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 412,881 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,607,000 after buying an additional 35,577 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $979,000. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 158.3% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 40,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 24,588 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 13.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 282,965 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,954,000 after buying an additional 33,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1,139.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 253,299 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,120,000 after buying an additional 232,860 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 over the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.