NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $323,000 Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 30.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,895 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 76,317 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 8,115 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 714,956 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $14,592,000 after purchasing an additional 41,372 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $3,505,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,517,598 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,792,000 after purchasing an additional 658,977 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $19.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.57. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.74 and a 1 year high of $28.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (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 9.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.