18,958 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Bought by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,958 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 1st 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 period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 80.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,777 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 245.1% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,379 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 51.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BEN opened at $22.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.51. The stock has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $23.91.

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.