16,284 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by MBB Public Markets I LLC

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC invested approximately $313,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. by purchasing 16,284 shares during the first quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, which reflects a yield of 5.2% and suggests a high payout ratio of 250.98%.
• Franklin Resources reported Q2 earnings of $0.49 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue declined by 2.2% year-over-year.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 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 and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 16,284 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 99.1% during the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $100,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,460 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position 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 valued at $71,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 132.7% during 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 last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $139,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN traded down $0.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.43. 943,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,427,300. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.07. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. 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 company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.81, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.51.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BEN. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average 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.