Rhumbline Advisers Grows Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 679,667 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 152,941 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.13% of Franklin Resources worth $13,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $765,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,373 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $237,828,000 after buying an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $190,805,000 after buying an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $130,645,000 after buying an additional 1,599,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 460,270 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.55. 7,008,410 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,496,460. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $24.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $20.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.68%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 188.24%.

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.