Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $256.50 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,860,325 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 22,535 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $256,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $32.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced 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. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

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.