Gold Investment Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,481 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.56 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.15. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.