Amundi Grows Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Amundi raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 62.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.72% of Franklin Resources worth $75,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $607,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,474,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 83,549 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE BEN opened at $19.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.59. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

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.