Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,450 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded down $1.42 on Wednesday, hitting $21.20. The company had a trading volume of 5,256,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,696,259. The company has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.56 and a 200 day moving average of $24.59. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.90.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.