Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. Buys 5,529 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,529 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 1.4% of Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.73. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.83 and a 52 week high of $28.61. The firm has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources 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.