Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,380 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,643 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $27.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $28.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.46.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BEN. Evercore raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.89.

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.