Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New $477,000 Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,616 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $76,051,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $51,384,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $32,293,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $17,937,000 after buying an additional 711,347 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BEN. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.89.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 3.4%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $26.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $28.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.22%.

About Franklin Resources

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.