Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 13,895 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 76.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,998,000 after acquiring an additional 560,000 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.7 %

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.58. The stock had a trading volume of 4,091,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,916,001. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $20.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 196.93%.

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.