California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 64,483 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 335,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,483 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $7,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 886,393 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $20,937,000 after acquiring an additional 117,800 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 917,468 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $21,671,000 after purchasing an additional 127,022 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 58.9% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 19,304 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 7,153 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.8% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 411,059 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $9,697,000 after purchasing an additional 7,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,358,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $35.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $35.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.99.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%.Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 89.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.44.

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.