Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,300,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 161,527 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Franklin Resources worth $43,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $152,692,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth $98,168,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 188.2% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 4,131,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $98,703,000 after buying an additional 2,697,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $33.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.17. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.