263,301 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 263,301 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $8,760,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned 0.05% of Franklin Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at about $6,254,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,418,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,742,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,580,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 335,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,919,000 after purchasing an additional 64,483 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $33.72 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 company has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement plans through a broad range of strategies and investment vehicles.

Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton manages strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, alternatives and other specialized areas, while also providing investment research, portfolio management and wealth-management services.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.