Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stake Raised by Tobam

Tobam raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 2,170.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,135 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $34,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,072,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $951,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,583 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,693,626 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $242,726,000 after acquiring an additional 80,446 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $161,338,000 after acquiring an additional 415,512 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,833,431 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $134,950,000 after buying an additional 345,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,052,116 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $106,895,000 after buying an additional 291,042 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. TD Cowen began coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.05.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $25.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

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.