Northern Trust Corp Buys 297,057 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,086,345 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 297,057 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.59% of Franklin Resources worth $62,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $21.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,224,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,283,634. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.20. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $24.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.46.

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.