17,000 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 17,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 975.5% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 149.1% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of BEN opened at $23.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.79 and a 200-day moving average of $26.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average 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.