Kinloch Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Kinloch Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,998 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 26,471 shares during the quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6%

BEN stock opened at $33.09 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $34.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.02 and its 200 day moving average is $26.82. The company has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.55. 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 earnings results 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. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $31.00 price target on Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.