AIA Group Ltd Acquires 1,893 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,175 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 100,975 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 71,308 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 253,009 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,134,000 after acquiring an additional 34,833 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,026,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $41,121,000 after acquiring an additional 391,159 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth $4,839,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $53,676,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.29 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.74 and a 52-week high of $28.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.57.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.