APG Asset Management N.V. Invests $3.35 Million in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 171,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $3,351,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.63.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $17.89 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.16%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

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.