Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys Shares of 14,297 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,297 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 105.7% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 36,791 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 18,903 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,358 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 3,669 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 59,818 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,307 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 2,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

BEN opened at $20.90 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.76. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted 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. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.