Bastion Asset Management Inc. Buys New Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 126,168 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,000. Franklin Resources comprises approximately 1.8% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.46.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE BEN traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.46. 6,426,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,285,455. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $24.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $18.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.19. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.