Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 27,830 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on BEN. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $19.56 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.57. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

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.