Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Bastion Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Bastion Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 77.9%, now holding 224,418 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and Envestnet Asset Management, have also significantly increased their positions in Franklin Resources during the first quarter.
• Barclays and Goldman Sachs recently updated their ratings for Franklin Resources, with Goldman Sachs upgrading the stock to a "buy" and setting a target price of $29.00.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 77.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,418 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 98,250 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up about 2.4% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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 reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.0%

BEN traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,274,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,529,466. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.45. 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 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $25.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.27 and its 200-day moving average is $20.94.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.