Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 42,742 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 160.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,300 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 42,742 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $7,681,000 after acquiring an additional 32,490 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.86.

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Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded up $0.45 on Friday, reaching $20.29. 4,121,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,248,527. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $20.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61.

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, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

About Franklin Resources

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.