Mackenzie Financial Corp Grows Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 38,990 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $682,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $506,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 243.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 305,181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $9,091,000 after buying an additional 216,325 shares during the period. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $247,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

BEN opened at $25.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

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.