National Bank of Canada FI Has $4.50 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 61.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,946 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 88,882 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $26.04 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $21.34. The company has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 51.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

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.

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