Aberdeen Group plc Has $3.98 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc significantly increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 59.4% during Q1, holding a position worth $3.98 million with a total of 208,092 shares.
• Franklin Resources reported a net income of $0.49 EPS, exceeding estimates, though revenue was down 2.2% year-over-year at $2.06 billion.
• Analysts currently have a consensus rating of "Reduce" for Franklin Resources with a target price of $23.58, reflecting mixed sentiment among investors.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 59.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,092 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 77,557 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,985,065 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $230,713,000 after purchasing an additional 263,619 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $190,805,000 after buying an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $139,040,000 after buying an additional 1,220,419 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 173.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,658,000 after buying an additional 2,241,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 1.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,156,407 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,761,000 after acquiring an additional 58,428 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of BEN opened at $24.5450 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.49. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $26.08. The company has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of 48.13, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.

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