Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $1.16 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 21.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 10,605 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $25.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.94. The company has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.92.

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.