66,901 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Acquired by Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC

Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 66,901 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000. Franklin Resources accounts for 1.2% of Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:BEN opened at $32.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $34.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.42 and a 200 day moving average of $28.25.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.