Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $388,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,450 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,853,000 after buying an additional 3,592,943 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada increased its position in Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% in the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $887,071,000 after buying an additional 31,385,293 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $91,398,000 after acquiring an additional 154,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $55,956,000 after acquiring an additional 37,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $1.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.20. 5,256,567 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,696,259. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.59. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.90.

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.