Norges Bank Takes $98.17 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 4,109,155 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $98,168,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $456,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 95.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 21,617 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 10,541 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 221.8% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 28,332 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 19,529 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 163.5% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,528 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 28,870 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $192,774,000 after purchasing an additional 272,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.1%

BEN opened at $31.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.43 and a 200 day moving average of $26.14. The company has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.