Board of the Pension Protection Fund Has $1.60 Million Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Board of the Pension Protection Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 413.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,800 shares during the quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 129.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the second quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $23.88 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $28.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.21 and a 200-day moving average of $24.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 6.97%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Evercore lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.89.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.