KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 100,878 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BEN. State Street Corp raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $59,316,000 after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $19.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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

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.