Bleakley Financial Group LLC Takes $203,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,811 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 975.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.39.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $24.70 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.