Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 83,434 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 83,434 Franklin Resources shares worth approximately $2.8 million during the second quarter. Several other institutions also initiated positions, with institutional investors and hedge funds collectively owning 47.56% of the stock.
• Franklin Resources exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.72 in EPS versus the $0.66 consensus estimate and $2.36 billion in revenue, up 14.3% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $32.44, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 3.8% annualized yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 83,434 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $2,776,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,190,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,850,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,068,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,469,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $15,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $34.63 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $33.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.20.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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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