New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 238,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $4,839,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd 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. Amundi lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $62,858,000 after purchasing an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $19.27 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.08. The stock has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a PEG 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $20.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business 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 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 is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

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.