Vest Financial LLC Grows Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 709,736 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Franklin Resources worth $59,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 14.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,635,491 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,955,000 after buying an additional 212,422 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $20.04. The stock had a trading volume of 3,446,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,600,701. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.57 and a 200 day moving average of $20.83. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is currently 196.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.86.

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.