Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Holdings Lifted by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 680,905 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 39,276 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.13% of Franklin Resources worth $13,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE BEN opened at $20.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.93%.

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.