California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 64,483 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Franklin Resources stake by 23.8% in the first quarter, purchasing 64,483 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 335,261 shares worth approximately $7.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Goldman Sachs and Zacks upgraded the stock, while Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank maintained neutral or hold views. MarketBeat reports an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $32.44.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly EPS of $0.72, exceeding estimates of $0.66, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.28 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.33, equivalent to a 3.7% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 335,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 64,483 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of Franklin Resources worth $7,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $35.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.55. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.99. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $35.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. 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.

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