Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Stock Acquired by Contravisory Investment Management Inc.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,024 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 24,290 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Community Bank grew its position in Franklin Resources by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 37,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,783 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.3% during the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 143,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.11.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN traded down $0.61 on Tuesday, reaching $31.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,045,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,780,660. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.56 and a 200-day moving average of $31.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.