S&CO Inc. Acquires Shares of 23,245 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

S&CO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 23,245 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth $6,254,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at about $1,580,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,336,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $941,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.8% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 335,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,919,000 after buying an additional 64,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.0%

BEN opened at $33.86 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.26 and a 200 day moving average of $29.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $36.28. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.44.

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.