Simplicity Solutions LLC Invests $203,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 74,206 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 28,795 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,665 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after buying an additional 14,580 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 89.2% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,852 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 489,475 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $13,666,000 after acquiring an additional 18,645 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEN opened at $25.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.06 and a 200 day moving average of $26.32. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.88 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.