Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Takes $285,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,801 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.60. 3,943,251 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,541,867. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.90 and a 200 day moving average of $20.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $25.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Bank of America lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.92.

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.