Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Acquires 900 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,755 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for approximately 1.5% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Tobam raised its position in Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.44. 1,828,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,244,831. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.02. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.57 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

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.