Lynx Investment Advisory Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,858 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $710,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 708,050 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $21,093,000 after buying an additional 147,497 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,547,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after buying an additional 170,089 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.90.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.79. 3,855,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,744,894. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.99. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.69%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.