New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,324 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,669 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 149.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2,170.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE BEN opened at $23.30 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.88 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

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.