Stableford Capital II LLC Makes New $507,000 Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Stableford Capital II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,773 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 179.2% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 209.5% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,201 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BEN. TD Cowen increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BEN opened at $32.38 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

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.