Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 15.3%, now owning over 102,000 shares valued at approximately $1.97 million.
• Research firms like Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo have raised their target prices on Franklin Resources' stock, reflecting positive sentiment despite its mixed analyst ratings.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing a dividend yield of 5.1% and a high payout ratio of 250.98%.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,089 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 13,578 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $237,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011,755 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 173.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,658,000 after buying an additional 2,241,500 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE BEN traded up $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.70. 2,079,326 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,570,774. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.28. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $25.79.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.58.

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.