Royal Bank of Canada Has $16.32 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

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 position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 847,679 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 91,958 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.16% of Franklin Resources worth $16,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.28 on Monday, hitting $24.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,601,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,353,755. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $12.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.51. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.10.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.98%.

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.