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

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 62.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $75,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.63 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.59. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.52%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 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.