QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 6,364 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $880,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after buying an additional 32,490 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $19.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Franklin Resources Company 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.