International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 152,890 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 152,890 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $4,555,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $35,396,000 after acquiring an additional 414,826 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 966,212 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $23,749,000 after purchasing an additional 110,806 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.2% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,873 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Franklin Resources by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 981,103 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $24,116,000 after buying an additional 106,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 383.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 502,840 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $12,360,000 after buying an additional 398,745 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of BEN traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,885,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,426,324. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.88 and a 1-year high of $30.32.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.39.

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.