Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 756 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,124 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BEN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.56. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.15.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 6.45%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.