Teza Capital Management LLC Invests $664,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,970 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000. Franklin Resources comprises about 1.3% of Teza Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $18,005,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 237.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 49,507 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 34,827 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,300,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $43,255,000 after acquiring an additional 161,527 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,273 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 9,234 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BEN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.3%

BEN opened at $34.19 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.05.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

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.