Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Increases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 109.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,300 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 76,600 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $237,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% in 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 grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 32.1% during 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 buying an additional 709,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,100,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,353,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.69. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.33 and its 200-day moving average is $20.29. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.96.

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.