XTX Topco Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd significantly increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 176.0%, acquiring a total of 46,783 shares worth approximately $901,000.
• Franklin Resources reported a quarterly EPS of $0.49, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue fell by 2.2% year-over-year to $2.06 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32, yielding 5.3% annually, though the dividend payout ratio is notably high at 188.24%.

XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 176.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,783 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 29,833 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 88,685 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 100,975 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 71,308 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 910,234 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $18,469,000 after buying an additional 12,940 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $436,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.02. 1,326,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,596,661. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.69 and a 200 day moving average of $21.19. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.09, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%. The business's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.42.

About Franklin Resources

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.