43,309 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Purchased by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its Franklin Resources stake by 144.2%, purchasing 43,309 additional shares to reach 73,349 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 47.56% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate Franklin Resources a Buy, six a Hold, and one a Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $35.89.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.66, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.36 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.33, equating to a 4.3% yield.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 144.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,349 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 43,309 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at about $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.6% in the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $83,204,000 after buying an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Franklin Resources by 37.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $46,400,000 after buying an additional 533,192 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Barclays reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Evercore reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.0%

BEN opened at $30.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $33.28 and its 200 day moving average is $31.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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