Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Bought by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 246.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,277 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.6% in the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $83,204,000 after purchasing an additional 153,422 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,400,000 after purchasing an additional 533,192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $31.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.