Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 843,922 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,021 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.16% of Franklin Resources worth $17,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,841 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 301.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 27,259 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 58.2% in the third quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 132,569 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 48,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.6% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 62,254 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 5,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.83. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 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 the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.