Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,568 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 18,124 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $565,000. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 37,496 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 477,828 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $9,695,000 after acquiring an additional 53,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $19.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.08. The stock has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.58.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 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 period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.