Royal Bank of Canada Grows Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 847,679 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,958 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.16% of Franklin Resources worth $16,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE BEN opened at $24.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.96.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.