PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $345,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,089,487 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $21,953,000 after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 257,503 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,189,000 after purchasing an additional 12,219 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 217,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $4,384,000 after purchasing an additional 41,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,203 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 4,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total value of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,020.11. The trade was a 14.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,000,303.36. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.23 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

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.