Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Holdings Raised by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 729,073 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 199,997 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.14% of Franklin Resources worth $14,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,300 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 14,842 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 159.5% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 161,088 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $3,268,000 after buying an additional 99,012 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,290 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE BEN traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $21.43. 1,157,772 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,455,055. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.68 and a 200 day moving average of $20.29. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.