Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 0.16% of the firm, valued at $16.3 million.
• Franklin Resources reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.49 for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, but its quarterly revenue of $2.06 billion fell short of projections.
• The company will pay a $0.32 per share dividend on October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 5.2%, although it has a notably high payout ratio of 250.98%.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 847,679 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 91,958 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.16% of Franklin Resources worth $16,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 464,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $8,937,000 after purchasing an additional 85,407 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,576 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,530 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $811,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 476,253 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $9,168,000 after acquiring an additional 19,673 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,034,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,416,089. The stock's 50 day moving average is $24.94 and its 200 day moving average is $22.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 48.32, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price 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.