15,773 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Stableford Capital II LLC

Stableford Capital II LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 15,773 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $152,692,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 188.2% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 4,131,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $98,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697,743 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,904,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BEN opened at $32.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BEN. Barclays raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.