Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 173.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 2,241,500 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.67% of Franklin Resources worth $71,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $21.53. The company had a trading volume of 3,287,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,364,037. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.37.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

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.