Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $98.70 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 188.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,131,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 2,697,743 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $98,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $32.45 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.60. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $32.93. The company has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.