Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. Purchases 5,529 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,529 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for 1.4% of Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. State Street Corp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in 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 buying an additional 422,688 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.73.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.