Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,001,740 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $20,325,000. Franklin Resources comprises approximately 4.4% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 203,414 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 27,169 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 17,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $11,035,000 after purchasing an additional 27,607 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.94 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.46.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.