Vest Financial LLC Acquires 175,597 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 6.4%, acquiring an additional 175,597 shares, bringing its total holdings to 2,904,475 shares.
• Franklin Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 5.7%, although its payout ratio is significantly high at 250.98%.
• The stock's consensus rating is "Reduce," with a target price averaging $24.08, as analysts show mixed sentiments with four Buy ratings but also a number of Hold and Sell ratings.

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,904,475 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 175,597 shares during the period. Franklin Resources makes up about 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.55% of Franklin Resources worth $69,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 79.8% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 245.1% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,379 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.08.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 4.1%

BEN opened at $22.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.50. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

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.

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