Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 122,116 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 5,527 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $345,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 24.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 615,925 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,411,000 after acquiring an additional 122,300 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.08 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

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.