Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Man Group plc

Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 183.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,517 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 191,860 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $6,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $22.16 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $24.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.26. The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.