GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 1,882.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,861 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 142,302 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,497,000. 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 worth $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 71,308 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 729,073 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $14,793,000 after buying an additional 199,997 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,954 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 15,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,020,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEN. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,203,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,487,527. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.28. The stock has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $24.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

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.