Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,915 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,307 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,855 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 59,818 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Franklin Resources by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,358 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 105.7% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 36,791 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 18,903 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BEN. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.60 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

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.