263,326 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 263,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $8,761,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 67,747 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $34.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $36.28. The stock has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.8%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.44.

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.