PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 34.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,204 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.56. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.92%.

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.