50,776 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Bought by NFSG Corp

NFSG Corp acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 50,776 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,631,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.6% during the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $83,204,000 after acquiring an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 37.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,400,000 after acquiring an additional 533,192 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $31.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.54. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.71. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.