111,526 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 111,526 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $3,582,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Bahl & Gaynor LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,527,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $254,000. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 42,211 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 11,758 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 52,346 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 23,925 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,017 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.78.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $36.29 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.71 and a 200-day moving average of $30.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $36.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.