Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Has $605,000 Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 139.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 17,376 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. State Street Corp increased 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 worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.57. 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 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 6.37%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.