Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $1.15 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,272 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 20,417 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $51,384,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,118,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $95,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370,132 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 381.7% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,433,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,174 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 167.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,494,817 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,575,000 after acquiring an additional 936,105 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $17,937,000 after acquiring an additional 711,347 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $29.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.70. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.80 and a 52 week high of $30.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.56.

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.