Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 35,560 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 78.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,905 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 35,560 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 975.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.39.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.25 on Tuesday, reaching $24.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,064,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,433,717. The firm has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.29.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 65.26%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.