18,016 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Bought by Css LLC Il

CSS LLC IL acquired a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,016 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 62,492 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 30,415 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 535,260 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,860,000 after purchasing an additional 43,445 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $11,035,000 after purchasing an additional 27,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.4%

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.13. 1,625,767 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,355,674. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $24.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 188.24%.

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.