Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,507 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,827 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $34.63 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.80%.

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.