SteelPeak Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 14,689 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,689 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 32,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. 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 research note on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.18.

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.