Freestone Grove Partners LP Invests $32.47 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 975,933 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $32,469,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,882,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,904,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,429,000. Invst LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $933,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,253,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $34.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $36.28. The firm has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.