APG Asset Management N.V. Takes $3.35 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 171,000 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $3,351,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $880,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 27,169 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE BEN traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.86. 910,246 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,330,775. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $25.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.32. The company has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 196.92%.

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.