NorthRock Partners LLC Makes New $353,000 Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC invested approximately $353,000 to acquire 14,590 shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. in the second quarter.
• Franklin Resources recently reported EPS of $0.49, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue of $2.06 billion fell short of $2.38 billion projections.
• The latest quarterly dividend declared was $0.32 per share, equating to a 5.8% yield, but the company's dividend payout ratio stands at a high 250.98%.

NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,590 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,985,065 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $230,713,000 after purchasing an additional 263,619 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $139,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,419 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 99.1% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $100,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,460 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,778,910 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $72,009,000 after purchasing an additional 26,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,392,081 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $65,298,000 after acquiring an additional 305,736 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.33, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $24.37 and its 200 day moving average is $22.64. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for 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%. Franklin Resources's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.08.

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.

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