Avanza Fonder AB Purchases Shares of 17,000 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,000 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. UBS Group reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BEN stock traded up $0.16 on Monday, hitting $19.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,811,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,070,066. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $21.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. This is a boost from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 148.84%.

Franklin Resources 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.