Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,866 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 263.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 3.4 %

BEN opened at $19.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Franklin Resources 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.