Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $1.15 Million Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,272 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 20,417 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 257.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 5,180.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 2,112 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $29.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.80 and a 1-year high of $30.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.64 and its 200-day moving average is $24.70.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.56.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.