Citigroup Inc. Purchases 123,159 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 518,381 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,159 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Franklin Resources worth $11,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 257.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $26.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 122.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.