Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,351 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $18.77 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.86. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.