Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Position Raised by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,298 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,550 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $62,858,000 after buying an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its stake 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 worth $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $17.63 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $25.69.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 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.