Foster & Motley Inc. Boosts Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 302.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,975 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,787 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BEN. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $371,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.7% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,880 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 126,848 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 21,695 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 284,463 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $6,719,000 after purchasing an additional 13,723 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 29,943 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 12,339 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $33.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $34.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.93 and a 200 day moving average of $27.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.67.

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.