Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Takes $933,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 48,462 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $237,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011,755 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $130,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,849 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $121,797,000 after purchasing an additional 460,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.65. 2,179,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,487,996. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.30. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $24.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.65%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 188.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

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.