Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Buys 18,658 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 25.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,108 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,658 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 20,968 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 25,972 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.3% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 9,351 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BEN. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.91.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6%

BEN stock opened at $22.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $26.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.27 and its 200 day moving average is $23.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 140.66%.

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.