SEB Asset Management AB Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 593,519 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $14,019,000. SEB Asset Management AB owned 0.11% of Franklin Resources at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 12.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 67,747 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BEN. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $32.22 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $34.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.34.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio 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.