ING Groep NV Makes New Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,884 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.73. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BEN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.