Strs Ohio Acquires Shares of 172,963 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 172,963 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $3,330,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the first 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 during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 79.8% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.1%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.94 and its 200 day moving average is $22.10. The company has a market capitalization of $12.65 billion, a PE ratio of 47.77, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 250.98%.

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.