Czech National Bank Grows Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted 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 valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 79.8% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,802 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating 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 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $24.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.80, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick 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.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.