Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Acquires 185,534 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 18.5%, now owning approximately 1.19 million shares, making it the firm's 3rd largest position.
• Franklin Resources announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.28 and a yield of 5.0%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Franklin Resources, with three Buy ratings, six Hold ratings, and five Sell ratings, while the consensus target price stands at $23.58.

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,187,274 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 185,534 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources accounts for 6.3% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Franklin Resources worth $22,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of BEN traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.58. 4,806,595 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,450,043. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Company 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.