Foundation Resource Management Inc. Has $16.43 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Foundation Resource Management Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 584,336 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 9,040 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for about 2.6% of Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Foundation Resource Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $16,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 708,050 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $21,093,000 after acquiring an additional 147,497 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,547,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 148.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,100 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 38,919 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,491,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,435,000 after buying an additional 144,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2,322.5% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $24,427,000 after buying an additional 833,113 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.0 %

BEN traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.83. 6,393,770 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,010,246. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.57 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.25.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.