Geode Capital Management LLC Has $192.77 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 272,335 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $192,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 129.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $30.37 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.03. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $32.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays set a $31.00 price target on Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.