Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 31,136 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

by · The Markets Daily

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Free Report) by 95.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 31,136 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,328,000. United Community Bank lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 172.1% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 34,069 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 21,547 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $522,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 34,715.9% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 89,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 89,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $840,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Evercore raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.89.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on BEN

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $27.67 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $28.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.63 and its 200 day moving average is $24.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

About Franklin Resources

(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.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN – Free Report).