Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,362 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,950 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Franklin Resources by 79.8% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in Franklin Resources by 245.1% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,379 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.84 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.50.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.83.

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.