Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.69 Million Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,831 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 2,361 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $7,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,518 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.29 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 196.92%.

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.