106,236 Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Bought by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 106,236 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $2,156,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,673,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,464,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.37. The business's 50-day moving average price is $19.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.29.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.