Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 15,712 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,011 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,712 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in Franklin Resources by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.0% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 25,350 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Joule Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.4% during the third quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 10,730 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE BEN opened at $24.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.87 and its 200-day moving average is $26.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.88 and a one year high of $30.32.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

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.