Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,085 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 79.8% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 245.1% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,379 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE BEN opened at $23.39 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.94. The stock has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.85, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.50. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $23.83.

Franklin Resources 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.