ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 535,388 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $10,863,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,676,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after buying an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after buying an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.54.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $17.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $20.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.52. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $17.19 and a one year high of $27.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.32%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 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.