Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $161,338,000 after purchasing an additional 415,512 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,053,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,061,000 after acquiring an additional 202,288 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,840,863 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $45,248,000 after acquiring an additional 14,896 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,750,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $43,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,396,000 after acquiring an additional 414,826 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.1 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.07 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.88 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

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.