Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Purchased by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 156.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,534 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 19,849 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $152,692,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,904,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,068,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $31.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $36.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.04 and a 200-day moving average of $31.98.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research lowered Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.