Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Franklin Resources stake by 5.8% in the first quarter, selling 114,263 shares and retaining 1.84 million shares valued at approximately $43.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 47.56% of BEN stock.
• Analyst sentiment improved, with several firms upgrading Franklin Resources or raising price targets; however, the overall consensus remains “Hold” with a $32.00 target price.
• Franklin Resources exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.71 EPS versus $0.55 expected and revenue growth of 8.7% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.33, representing a 4.0% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,841,664 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 114,263 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.35% of Franklin Resources worth $43,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $33.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $34.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $32.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.63. The stock has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Franklin Resources's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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

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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