Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 170.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,750 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 93,724 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $20.50 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.75. The company has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42. 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 announced 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 net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.93%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.