Morse Asset Management Inc Has $223,000 Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Morse Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 88.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 72,420 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 219,696 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,082,000 after purchasing an additional 16,133 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 161,469 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,735,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 45.4% during the third quarter. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC now owns 747,430 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $17,288,000 after purchasing an additional 233,230 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 20,193 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 122,857 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $24.38 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $28.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.46.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

About Franklin Resources

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.