Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 75,031 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,846 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 9,351 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $26.58 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $28.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The company has a market capitalization of $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Franklin Resources Company 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.