Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Takes $32.29 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,396,136 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $32,293,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.27% of Franklin Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 80.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,777 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.09.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.47. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 140.66%.

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.