Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $71.66 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 173.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.67% of Franklin Resources worth $71,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $59,557,000 after buying an additional 1,673,971 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 294,530 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 6,534 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 162,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 11,367 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,020,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 109,006 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $22.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $24.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.25.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

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.

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.