Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $4.46 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,911 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 53,776 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 20,968 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.3% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 9,351 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.2% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,284 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $25.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.26 and its 200 day moving average is $23.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The firm has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 145.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BEN. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.09.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.