Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Makes New $7.66 Million Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 238,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $7,659,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $36,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 179.2% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 209.5% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,201 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $30.99 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

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.