Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 139.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $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 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

BEN stock opened at $20.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its 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 company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

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.