Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Stock: New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Boosts Holdings

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,173 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,900 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.6% in the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $83,204,000 after purchasing an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,400,000 after purchasing an additional 533,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $36.29 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.79. The company has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.42%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.78.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.