Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Holdings Trimmed by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP cut its Franklin Resources stake by 3.3%, selling 173,257 shares and retaining 5.14 million shares valued at approximately $165 million. Institutional investors collectively own 47.56% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook, with Franklin Resources carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $35.89, compared with a recent share price of $32.29.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.36 billion. The company also declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.1% annualized yield.

Artemis Investment Management LLP reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,137,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 173,257 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 1.3% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 1.01% of Franklin Resources worth $165,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $152,692,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 188.2% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 4,131,559 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $98,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kopernik Global Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $83,204,000 after acquiring an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.29. 2,303,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,778,247. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $33.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.37. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28. The company has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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