Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Takes $1.33 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 57,400 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,328,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 177.1% in the second quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.78.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.7%

BEN opened at $27.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $27.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.04. The firm has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 122.22%.

Franklin Resources 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.