Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $7.36 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 62.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 147,675 shares, bringing their total ownership to 382,426 shares valued at approximately $7.36 million.
• During the same period, several other institutional investors also significantly increased their positions in Franklin Resources, contributing to a total of 47.56% of the company's stock being held by institutional investors.
• Franklin Resources reported earnings of $0.49 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ estimates, although their revenue of $2.06 billion fell short of expectations, leading to a 2.2% year-over-year decline.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 62.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 382,426 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 147,675 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $7,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 182,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,525,000 after buying an additional 16,331 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 123,280 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 10,596 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 82,895 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 24.6% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 17,658 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,878,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BEN. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.38. 3,121,507 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,038,514. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Company 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.