Amundi Purchases 26,584 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in Franklin Resources by acquiring an additional 26,584 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 3,778,910 shares, valued at $72 million.
• Franklin Resources reported earnings of $0.49 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.46, despite a 2.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company will distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share on October 10, representing an annualized yield of 5.1% with a payout ratio of 250.98%.

Amundi lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,778,910 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 26,584 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.72% of Franklin Resources worth $72,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $26.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $24.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of 48.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Cowen reiterated 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 assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.58.

About Franklin Resources

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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