Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Makes New $15.88 Million Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec acquired 477,373 Franklin Resources shares worth approximately $15.88 million, giving it a 0.09% stake. Other institutional investors also initiated positions, with institutions and hedge funds collectively owning 47.56% of BEN.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.66, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.36 billion. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $32.44.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equivalent to $1.32 annually and a 3.8% yield; its payout ratio is approximately 89.8%.

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 477,373 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $15,882,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned about 0.09% of Franklin Resources at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $6,254,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,418,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,742,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,580,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,336,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3%

BEN stock opened at $34.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $36.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.99.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source