SummitTX Capital L.P. Sells 78,446 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

SummitTX Capital L.P. reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 39.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,148 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 78,446 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $33.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.54 and a 200-day moving average of $28.69. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $34.92.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 100.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.