Lincoln Capital Corp Acquires 67,801 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Lincoln Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 67,801 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $2,178,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 46.2% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,793 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $2,500,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Oak Grove Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 29,972 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,045,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,780,660. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $36.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.11.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.