Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 14,842 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 69.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,300 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 14,842 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $11,035,000 after acquiring an additional 27,607 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 535,260 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,860,000 after purchasing an additional 43,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 62,492 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 30,415 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of BEN traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,543,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,763,254. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 9.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

Franklin Resources 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.