Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Position Increased by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 166,227 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 8,748 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Franklin Resources by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,652,644 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $793,983,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043,808 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Franklin Resources by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,067,780 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $91,398,000 after buying an additional 154,850 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,878,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $55,956,000 after acquiring an additional 37,474 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $49,547,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,491,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,435,000 after acquiring an additional 144,843 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on BEN shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.50 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.15.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE:BEN traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 692,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,656,028. The company has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.57 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average of $25.77.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson purchased 200,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.80 per share, for a total transaction of $4,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

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.