Interval Partners LP Purchases New Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Interval Partners LP has acquired 132,419 shares of Franklin Resources, Inc., valued at approximately $2,549,000, signifying a new stake in the company.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Franklin Resources, with 47.56% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Franklin Resources recently reported earnings of $0.49 per share, exceeding estimates, but its quarterly revenue decreased by 2.2% year-over-year, highlighting a mixed performance

Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 132,419 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $2,549,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.76. 1,331,739 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,434,804. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. The stock has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $24.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.98.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

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.