Invesco Ltd. Increases Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 2.23% of Franklin Resources worth $237,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $880,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,903,000 after buying an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $17.87. 836,909 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,330,483. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $25.69. The stock has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.32. 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 announced its 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.