727,620 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 727,620 Franklin Resources shares worth approximately $23.4 million, giving it a 0.14% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 47.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with four Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $35.89.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.36 billion. The company also maintains a $0.33 quarterly dividend, equal to a 4.3% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 727,620 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $23,371,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.14% of Franklin Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Community Bank lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.9% in the second quarter. United Community Bank now owns 37,849 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,783 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.3% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 143,825 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $30.99 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.77. 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 one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The firm has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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

About Franklin Resources

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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