Deutsche Bank AG Grows Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 3.2%, acquiring an additional 60,941 shares to reach a total of nearly 1.95 million shares valued at approximately $37.5 million.
• Franklin Resources reported a quarterly EPS of $0.49, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.46, despite a revenue decline of 2.2% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend payout of $0.32 per share, reflecting a 5% dividend yield, but has a high dividend payout ratio of 250.98%.

Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,948,399 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 60,941 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.37% of Franklin Resources worth $37,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,280,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,155,897. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 49.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.46. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Company 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.