Franklin Resources Inc. Has $54.79 Million Stake in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,789,899 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 457,273 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of UBS Group worth $54,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,277,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in UBS Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 206,803 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after acquiring an additional 29,367 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth about $354,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of UBS Group by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter.

UBS Group Stock Down 5.4 %

UBS opened at $26.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.23. UBS Group AG has a fifty-two week low of $26.01 and a fifty-two week high of $35.84.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. UBS Group’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UBS. Bank of America downgraded UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Company Profile

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.