BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $13.16 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 57.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,812 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 236,794 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.12% of Franklin Resources worth $13,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Franklin Resources by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $121,797,000 after purchasing an additional 460,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.86. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.20. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. 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. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.46.

About Franklin Resources

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.

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