Sound Income Strategies LLC Has $10.40 Million Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 516,268 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,369 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned about 0.10% of Franklin Resources worth $10,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the first quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after acquiring an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,582,000 after purchasing an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.11. 4,449,302 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,016,326. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.70.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson acquired 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at $51,857,182. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, with a total value of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,890,529.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson bought 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.66 per share, with a total value of $249,682.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BEN. UBS Group lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.43.

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.