66,901 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC initiated a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter, buying 66,901 shares valued at about $1.58 million. The stake makes up about 1.2% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Franklin Resources reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $0.71 versus estimates of $0.55 and revenue of $1.75 billion versus $1.70 billion expected. Revenue rose 8.7% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.0%. Analysts remain mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.00.

Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 66,901 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000. Franklin Resources comprises about 1.2% of Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 7,634 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 52.2% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $12,144,000 after buying an additional 174,579 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $32.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.25. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $34.92. The company has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

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.

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