Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 747,430 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 233,230 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for approximately 3.9% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $17,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,065,908 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $232,833,000 after buying an additional 553,184 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 3,242,470 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $74,998,000 after acquiring an additional 53,741 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,236,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $77,192,000 after acquiring an additional 80,146 shares during the last quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 2,843,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $67,826,000 after acquiring an additional 407,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,618,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Barclays increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of BEN opened at $24.15 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $28.32. The stock 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. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.41.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Franklin Resources’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. 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 currently 122.22%.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.