Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 96,557 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 96,557 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,959,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,536,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,313,621. The firm's 50-day moving average is $19.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.24. The company has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $25.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given 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 6.83%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.96.

About Franklin Resources

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.