Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Invests $20.33 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,001,740 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $20,325,000. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 4.4% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Franklin Resources as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 203,414 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,903,000 after buying an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 17,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $11,035,000 after buying an additional 27,607 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE BEN traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.03. 8,293,508 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,330,972. The business's 50 day moving average is $19.11 and its 200-day moving average is $20.23. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $24.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, 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 (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.