Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Position Raised by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3,035.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 456,299 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 441,744 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.09% of Franklin Resources worth $14,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $36,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $36.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.54%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.78.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.