Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 14,887 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 11.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 14,887 shares.
• Franklin Resources reported an EPS of $0.49 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.46, despite experiencing a 2.2% year-over-year decrease in revenue.
• The company's recent dividend of $0.32 per share results in an annualized yield of 5.3%, while the dividend payout ratio stands at a high 188.24%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,311 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 14,887 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:BEN traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $25.21. 1,895,514 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,601,555. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.12. The company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.42, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $25.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.42.

About Franklin Resources

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.