Fire Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 172,333 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 172,333 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $3,497,000. Franklin Resources comprises approximately 2.6% of Fire Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.25. 1,108,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,449,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.62 and a 200-day moving average of $20.28.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.25.

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.