Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,866 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $19.56 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. 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.