Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 37.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,276 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.92.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.94. The company has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $25.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company 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 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

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.