84,248 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management opened a new position of 84,248 shares in Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) in Q3, valued at about $1.95 million, with institutional ownership now at roughly 47.56%.
• Franklin Resources declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 (annualized $1.32), implying a 4.9% yield
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average target of $25.89, while the stock trades near $26.86 and carries a market cap of about $13.99 billion and a PE of 24.87.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 84,248 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,948,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,677,417 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $206,956,000 after acquiring an additional 97,708 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,236,553 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $77,192,000 after purchasing an additional 80,146 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $76,051,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 16.7% in the second quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 2,843,849 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $67,826,000 after buying an additional 407,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $60,618,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $26.86 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $28.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $26.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

Franklin Resources 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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