Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Position Increased by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,019 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 896 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,072,606 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $951,307,000 after buying an additional 1,390,583 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Franklin Resources by 0.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,693,626 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $242,726,000 after buying an additional 80,446 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 6.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,563,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $161,338,000 after buying an additional 415,512 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,833,431 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $134,950,000 after purchasing an additional 345,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Franklin Resources by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,052,116 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $106,895,000 after purchasing an additional 291,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

BEN stock opened at $25.15 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.88 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.32. The firm has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

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.