Bleakley Financial Group LLC Takes $203,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,811 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BEN. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 63.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 74,206 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 28,795 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 24.8% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 23.5% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,665 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 14,580 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 89.2% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,852 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 489,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $13,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,645 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $24.70 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.88 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.17 and a 200-day moving average of $26.29.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.39.

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.