SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 12,236 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.14 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.18 and its 200-day moving average is $20.63. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders 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 6.36%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.