Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 217.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,992 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 117,802 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 99,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock traded down $0.22 on Tuesday, hitting $16.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,019,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,313,841. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.36 and a 1 year high of $27.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 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 earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.88.

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.