US Bancorp DE Has $417,000 Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,543 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,733 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after buying an additional 32,490 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 27,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEN. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of BEN opened at $19.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.58.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results 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 business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.