West Oak Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,380 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $793,983,000 after buying an additional 4,043,808 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,547,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 2,322.5% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,984 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 833,113 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,684,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,396,000 after purchasing an additional 414,826 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.23. 4,080,022 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,678,211. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.57 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock 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 company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

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.