Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Stock Holdings Decreased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its Franklin Resources position by 91.7% in the first quarter, selling 283,854 shares and retaining 25,605 shares valued at approximately $605,000. Institutional investors collectively own 47.56% of the company.
• Analysts have generally raised their price targets, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00. Franklin Resources shares recently traded at $33.22, near their 12-month high of $34.92.
• Franklin Resources beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.71 in EPS versus the $0.55 consensus and revenue of $1.75 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.33, equal to a 4.0% annualized yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 91.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,605 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 283,854 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $6,254,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $1,580,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $1,336,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $941,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Franklin Resources by 1,893.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 168,306 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,975,000 after acquiring an additional 159,862 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $33.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $32.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.79. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $34.92.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 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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