Deutsche Bank AG Invests $37.74 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,134,422 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $37,742,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 277.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.0%

BEN opened at $34.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $36.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.72. The firm has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.44.

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.