Ieq Capital LLC Invests $5.12 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 153,808 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $5,117,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,254,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,580,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at $941,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $1,336,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 335,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,919,000 after purchasing an additional 64,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $34.32 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.74. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $36.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.