TIAA Trust National Association Increases Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 58.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,234 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,245 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,471 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $31.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

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.