Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 50,383 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,882,860 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $259,988,000 after purchasing an additional 816,952 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,122,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 768,707 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $192,774,000 after buying an additional 272,335 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,083,168 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $169,217,000 after purchasing an additional 243,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.8% in the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,796,575 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $138,480,000 after buying an additional 2,554,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $33.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $36.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.26 and a 200-day moving average of $29.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.44.

About Franklin Resources

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.