JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 35.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,101,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 554,842 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.40% of Franklin Resources worth $48,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,051,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,384,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,293,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $17,937,000 after buying an additional 711,347 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.6%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $27.42 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 122.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

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.