Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp sharply increased its stake in Franklin Resources, boosting its position by 1,893.2% in the first quarter to 168,306 shares worth about $3.98 million.
• Franklin Resources reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.71 per share and revenue of $1.75 billion, both above analyst estimates.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equal to a 4.0% yield, though its payout ratio is elevated at 100.76%.

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 1,893.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,306 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 159,862 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,882,860 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $259,988,000 after acquiring an additional 816,952 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,122,937 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 768,707 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $192,774,000 after purchasing an additional 272,335 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,083,168 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $169,217,000 after purchasing an additional 243,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.8% during the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,796,575 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $138,480,000 after buying an additional 2,554,105 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $32.68 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $34.92. The company has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.25.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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