35,798 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group initiated a position in Franklin Resources, buying 35,798 shares valued at approximately $1.19 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 47.56% of BEN.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, five a Hold and two a Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and a $32.44 price target.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.06, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.36 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 3.8% annualized yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,798 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at about $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BEN. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of BEN opened at $34.70 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $33.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $36.28.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

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.

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