LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 24.5%, holding 1,889,160 shares worth approximately $36.37 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Franklin Resources reported $0.49 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, despite a 2.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, which represents a 5.3% yield and a payout ratio of 188.24%.

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 24.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,889,160 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 371,562 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.36% of Franklin Resources worth $36,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,676,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 173.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $71,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $59,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,971 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after buying an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.95. The stock had a trading volume of 8,425,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,222,649. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $25.36. The company has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.04.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 3.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 188.24%.

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.