Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Takes $12.08 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 505,591 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $12,079,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BEN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 3.8%

NYSE BEN opened at $30.75 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.56. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.06 and a 12 month high of $32.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $31.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.56.

About Franklin Resources

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.