Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Stock Holdings Lifted by Praxis Investment Management Inc.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 177.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,010 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $243,000. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $225,000. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $353,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $395,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,904,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $69,272,000 after acquiring an additional 175,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $22.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.50. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.08.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.