Founders Financial Securities LLC Purchases 23,051 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Founders Financial Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 23,051 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BEN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 153,422 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 37.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $46,400,000 after buying an additional 533,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. TD Cowen decreased 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, October 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Barclays restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $31.66 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28. The stock has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.78 and its 200-day moving average is $30.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The business 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%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.