Wellington Management Group LLP Has $2.05 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 240.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,975 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 71,308 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $121,797,000 after purchasing an additional 460,270 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research 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, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.8%

Franklin Resources stock opened at $21.74 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $24.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.29. 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 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 during 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 for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

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.

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