US Bancorp DE Boosts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,543 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,733 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 128,143 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 29,472 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 128,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 5,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE BEN opened at $19.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.58. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42.

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, 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.