20,616 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 20,616 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.2% during the third quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 8,260 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $548,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 518,381 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,990,000 after buying an additional 123,159 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of BEN opened at $26.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $28.32. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.97 and its 200-day moving average is $24.39.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average 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.