Vest Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,904,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 175,597 shares during the period. Franklin Resources comprises approximately 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $69,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 245.1% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,379 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 4.1%

BEN stock opened at $22.65 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.50.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The firm 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 firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.08.

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.