Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Purchases New Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,120 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 239.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,268 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 24,883 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,046 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 25,414 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 843,922 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $17,123,000 after purchasing an additional 37,021 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $494,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 15,368 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.64. 2,050,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,747,688. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $24.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.65%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America reduced 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

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.