Norges Bank Makes New $53.68 Million Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,645,422 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $53,676,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $765,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 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 topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.54.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.6 %

BEN stock opened at $17.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.19 and a twelve month high of $27.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.52.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.32%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.