International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes $4.56 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 152,890 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $4,555,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $35,396,000 after acquiring an additional 414,826 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 966,212 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $23,749,000 after acquiring an additional 110,806 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.2% during the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,873 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 12.1% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 981,103 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $24,116,000 after acquiring an additional 106,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 383.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 502,840 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $12,360,000 after acquiring an additional 398,745 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $24.70 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.88 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 company has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.39.

Franklin Resources 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.