Teacher Retirement System of Texas Invests $811,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 42,127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $811,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 79.8% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 95,358 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 8,793 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 59,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.9% in the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,421 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.60. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $25.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.83.

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.