Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Holdings Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 243.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 305,181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 216,325 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $9,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cooper Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.0% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 25,350 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 22,250 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joule Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 10,730 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $25.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.29. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.39.

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.