CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $1.79 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,821 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,060 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,471 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.5% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $31.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $32.47.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.