Sei Investments Co. Buys 54,865 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BENFree Report) by 34.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 215,439 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,865 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $5,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,254,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $1,580,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $1,336,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth $941,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 1,893.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 168,306 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after acquiring an additional 159,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $35.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.87 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 $35.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BENGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)

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