Azora Capital LP Acquires 53,741 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Azora Capital LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,242,470 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,741 shares during the period. Franklin Resources comprises 3.5% of Azora Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $74,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,384,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $32,293,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 381.7% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,433,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,164,000 after buying an additional 1,136,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 167.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,494,817 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,575,000 after buying an additional 936,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $28.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.42. The company has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 122.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.