Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 253,009 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 34,833 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $5,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Franklin Resources by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,937 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BEN. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.88.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.65. The stock had a trading volume of 8,019,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,313,841. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.36 and a twelve month high of $27.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.82 and its 200 day moving average is $20.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.69%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.