Covestor Ltd Purchases 1,180 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,595 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $880,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after buying an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $11,035,000 after acquiring an additional 27,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $17.71 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.65 and its 200 day moving average is $20.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.47.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.79.

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.