Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 68,862 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 177.1% in the second quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 5,180.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 2,112 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 80.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,777 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.17 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 5.98%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 145.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.09.

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.