18,600 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Oak Grove Capital LLC

Oak Grove Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,600 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 29,972 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 482,990 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $15,649,000 after buying an additional 6,988 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 19.0% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,369 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $507,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 173.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 50,889 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,635,000 after buying an additional 32,284 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.3%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $31.98 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.63 and a 200-day moving average of $31.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $36.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.