Donald L. Hagan LLC Buys Shares of 44,043 Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Donald L. Hagan LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 44,043 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $894,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.89 and a 200 day moving average of $21.02. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

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.