Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Holdings Raised by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 269.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,001 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 70,739 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds 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 during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.03. The stock had a trading volume of 762,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,350,015. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $24.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Franklin Resources's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.