New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $1.36 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,669 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 133,132 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 483,748 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $14,411,000 after acquiring an additional 8,151 shares during the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,191 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $2,763,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $23.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32. The company has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average is $26.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BEN. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen reduced 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 note on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Franklin Resources 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.