851,203 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1,321.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 915,610 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 851,203 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $29,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $35,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Franklin Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Franklin Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Franklin Templeton raised its fiscal 2029 targets for margins, private markets and ETFs, citing alternative-investment growth and operating efficiency as potential drivers. Article: Franklin Templeton Lifts 2029 Targets
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $44 from $38 and reiterated a “buy” rating, signaling stronger analyst confidence in BEN’s prospects. TD Cowen recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its target to $38 from $37, while keeping a “market perform” rating. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its target to $36 from $34 but maintained an “equal weight” rating, indicating limited conviction in near-term outperformance. Franklin Resources price target raised at Barclays

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $37.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.78.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $36.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.65 and its 200 day moving average is $30.48. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.79.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 11.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts. The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.