Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Acquires Shares of 541,189 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group acquired 541,189 shares of Franklin Resources, valued at approximately $18 million, giving it a 0.11% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 47.56% of the company.
• Franklin Resources surpassed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.72 EPS versus a $0.66 estimate and $2.36 billion in revenue, up 14.3% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $32.44 price target, while the company’s $0.33 quarterly dividend represents a 3.9% annualized yield.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 541,189 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $18,005,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.11% of Franklin Resources as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $34.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.05. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $36.28. The company has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

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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