Finward Bancorp Buys 28,320 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Finward Bancorp acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 28,320 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $910,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Community Bank grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 37,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,783 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.3% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 143,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $30.55. 5,055,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,782,054. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $36.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.47 and a 200-day moving average of $31.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.