Franklin Resources' Portfolio Shifts
Franklin Resources Adjusts Major Holdings, Boosting AstraZeneca and Trimming Linde Shares
Franklin Resources Inc. adjusted its portfolio across several major holdings, raising its stakes in AstraZeneca and Philip Morris International while trimming its position in Linde and increasing exposure to Southwest Airlines and UnitedHealth Group. In AstraZeneca, Franklin added shares, taking its position to about 20.2 million shares valued at roughly $3.5 billion, alongside other investors that also increased stakes. For Linde, Franklin reduced its stake by about 4.9% to roughly 3.7 million shares, even as large institutional owners such as Vanguard, State Street, and Capital Research continued to add. Franklin boosted Southwest Airlines by about 7%, bringing its holding to about 40.2 million shares valued at roughly $1.7 billion, amid broad institutional participation. It also increased Philip Morris International by about 6.2% to about 14.4 million shares valued at about $2.3 billion, while research firms cited in the coverage generally leaned positive. In UnitedHealth, Franklin increased its stake by about 10% to roughly 6.4 million shares worth about $2.1 billion, alongside other investors’ selective adds and reductions and a noted CEO share sale.
Key Points
In AstraZeneca, Franklin reported that the stock is about 0.9% of its portfolio and its 18th-largest holding—after increasing to 20,157,744 shares and valuing the position at about $3.54 billion.
For Linde, the filings noted Norges Bank added a new stake during the quarter worth $3,246,750,000—while Franklin trimmed its position by 4.9% and institutional/hedge funds owned 82.80% of the stock.
Southwest Airlines updates included very large relative adds by other investors, such as SG Americas Securities LLC increasing its stake by 2,468.4% (to 3,752,352 shares) and Ameriprise Financial increasing by 43.7% (to 12,335,167 shares). The coverage also cited sell-side moves including Bank of America cutting its target price to $40 and assigning an “underperform” rating.
In UnitedHealth, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares at an average price of $355.00 for about $284,000, reducing his holdings by 4.30% to 17,805 shares (a transaction disclosed in a filing).
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