American International Group Inc. Has $2.03 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 6th, 2023

American International Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,906 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,856 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Franklin Resources by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,909,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $761,187,000 after buying an additional 2,384,798 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,072,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $951,307,000 after buying an additional 1,390,583 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,693,626 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $242,726,000 after purchasing an additional 80,446 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,227,301 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $190,656,000 after buying an additional 866,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,903,235 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $148,558,000 after buying an additional 54,240 shares in the last quarter. 45.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc acquired 2,465,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.14 per share, for a total transaction of $24,999,997.62. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,955,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,248,597.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $20.24 and a one year high of $34.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.48.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 10.79%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.55.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Franklin Resources, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of investment management and related services. The firm offers services and products under various distinct brand names, including, but not limited to, Franklin, Templeton, Legg Mason, Benefit Street Partners, Brandywine Global Investment Management, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Fiduciary Trust International, Franklin Bissett, Franklin Mutual Series, K2, LibertyShares, Martin Currie, Royce Investment Partners and Western Asset Management Company.