Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,871 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 975.5% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $23.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.