73,020 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Man Group plc

Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 73,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $2,429,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,882,860 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $259,988,000 after purchasing an additional 816,952 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,122,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 768,707 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $192,774,000 after buying an additional 272,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,083,168 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $169,217,000 after buying an additional 243,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $33.09 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.08. The company has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Company 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.