CVA Family Office LLC Invests $49,000 in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,640 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 975.5% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $27.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.88 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.14.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.05.

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.