Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 389,200 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 64.9%, buying 389,200 shares to own 989,063 shares (about 0.19% of the company) valued at $22.88 million at quarter-end.
• Dividend: Franklin Resources declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.32) implying a 5.1% yield; the ex-dividend date is Mar 31 and the payment date is Apr 10, with a payout ratio of 122.22%.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target price of $25.89, and several firms have issued neutral/underweight or lowered targets in recent reports.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 64.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 989,063 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 389,200 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Franklin Resources worth $22,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 7.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,846 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 8.3% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 9,351 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Evercore boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $25.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $28.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.23 and a 200 day moving average of $24.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Franklin Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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