Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Holdings 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 boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 59.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,092 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 77,557 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,764 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 20,905 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $121,797,000 after purchasing an additional 460,270 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 13,958 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.32. 4,015,937 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,987,273. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.64, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $26.08. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.53 and its 200-day moving average is $21.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business 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 company's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources 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.