Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Has $17.29 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 747,430 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 233,230 shares during the period. Franklin Resources makes up about 3.9% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Franklin Resources worth $17,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 177.1% in the second quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.15 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $28.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.22%.

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.