Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Buys New Shares in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,813 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,764 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after buying an additional 20,905 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 17,026 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,595 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 125,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $17.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.30. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $25.69. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.96.

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.