Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,075 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,676,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 173.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $59,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,971 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Franklin Resources Stock Performance
Shares of BEN traded up $0.37 on Friday, reaching $23.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,929,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,527,489. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $21.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.31. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $24.37.
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have weighed in on BEN. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.88.
Check Out Our Latest Report on BEN
Franklin Resources Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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