VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires Shares of 42,600 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 42,600 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BEN. United Community Bank raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 37,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.0% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BEN. 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 report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.1%

BEN stock opened at $33.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement plans through a broad range of strategies and investment vehicles.

Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton manages strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, alternatives and other specialized areas, while also providing investment research, portfolio management and wealth-management services.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.