Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases New Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC has acquired 18,258 shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. valued at approximately $435,000 during the 2nd quarter, marking a new position for the institutional investor in the company.
• Franklin Resources announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, scheduled for payment on October 10th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.4%.
• Equities research analysts have set the consensus price target for Franklin Resources at $24.25, with varying ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell" reflecting mixed sentiments among analysts.

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 18,258 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $435,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,985,065 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $230,713,000 after purchasing an additional 263,619 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $139,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,419 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 99.1% in the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $100,825,000 after buying an additional 2,607,460 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,778,910 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $72,009,000 after buying an additional 26,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,392,081 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $65,298,000 after buying an additional 305,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $23.58 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average is $24.60 and its 200-day moving average is $22.52. 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 company has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.50. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.08.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.25.

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.

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