ING Groep NV Purchases Shares of 14,884 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 14,884 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $20.38 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.27 and its two-hundred day 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 PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 is currently 196.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

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.