Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Holdings Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 565,771 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 104,642 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $11,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $59,316,000 after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.93. The stock had a trading volume of 570,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,546,754. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $19.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.33. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $25.69. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 196.92%.

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.