Cwm LLC Has $275,000 Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Cwm LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,242 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 443,545 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,867 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,753 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after acquiring an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 27,592 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 49,621 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 492,553 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,107,000 after acquiring an additional 6,145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $23.38 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.88 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 70.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

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.