Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $2.41 Million Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 78.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,905 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,560 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 9,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 38,990 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $682,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $506,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.82. 3,520,373 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,407,029. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.88 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.29. The company has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.39.

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.