Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Holdings Lifted by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,607 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $11,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 250.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,587 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $19.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day moving average is $21.10. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

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.