Marshall Wace LLP Has $5.80 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,593 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 179,780 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.05% of Franklin Resources worth $5,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $237,828,000 after buying an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $62,858,000 after acquiring 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 worth $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.01 on Monday, hitting $18.71. 1,622,606 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,290,716. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $19.11 and its 200 day moving average is $20.24. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $25.11.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BEN. Bank of America reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.