SteelPeak Wealth LLC Invests $303,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,689 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.9% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,213,663 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,605,000 after purchasing an additional 411,931 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.89 and a 200 day moving average of $21.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.41.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.35%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Profile

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.