Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 23,970 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 315,791 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 23,970 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Franklin Resources worth $6,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.5% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 25,648 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,365 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,075 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 62,439 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 22.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 464,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $8,937,000 after purchasing an additional 85,407 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.4%

BEN stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,633,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,686,025. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.17 and a 200-day moving average of $20.87. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $25.36. The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.45.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 188.24%.

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.