Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) is Vest Financial LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares during the period. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $59,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 76.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,998,000 after buying an additional 560,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $20.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

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.