Sound Income Strategies LLC Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 5.2% during the second quarter, owning approximately 583,016 shares worth $13.9 million.
• Franklin Resources reported $0.49 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.46, though its revenue fell 2.2% year-over-year to $2.06 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing a 5.5% dividend yield with a high payout ratio of 250.98%.

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 583,016 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 28,931 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $13,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $100,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,460 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the 1st 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. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $13,878,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,889,160 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $36,366,000 after purchasing an additional 371,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 822,244 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $15,828,000 after purchasing an additional 328,800 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $23.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.62, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.37. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. 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 research report on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Three research 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.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.