Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys Shares of 49,507 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management purchased 49,507 shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.65 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 47.56% of BEN shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $32.44, although TD Cowen and Zacks recently issued more bullish assessments.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly EPS of $0.72, exceeding estimates of $0.66, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.36 billion. BEN opened at $34.62 and trades within a 52-week range of $21.10 to $36.28.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 49,507 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BEN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $34.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $33.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm's revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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