Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 170.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,750 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 93,724 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Company 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.