Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,829,001 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,002 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $74,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RFP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EWG Elevate Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors own 45.47% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $24.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.99 and a 200 day moving average of $27.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.24 and a 1 year high of $34.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 10.79%. The company’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc acquired 2,465,483 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.14 per share, for a total transaction of $24,999,997.62. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,955,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,248,597.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BEN. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.55.

Franklin Resources Profile

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Franklin Resources, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of investment management and related services. The firm offers services and products under various distinct brand names, including, but not limited to, Franklin, Templeton, Legg Mason, Benefit Street Partners, Brandywine Global Investment Management, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Fiduciary Trust International, Franklin Bissett, Franklin Mutual Series, K2, LibertyShares, Martin Currie, Royce Investment Partners and Western Asset Management Company.