Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Stock: Signaturefd LLC Boosts Position

Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 246.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,277 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 179.2% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 209.5% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,201 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Barclays reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.5%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $31.69 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.13.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.