Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 74.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,852,514 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 791,367 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.35% of Franklin Resources worth $37,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,095,373 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $130,645,000 after buying an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $121,797,000 after buying an additional 460,270 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $18.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.24. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $25.30.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

About Franklin Resources

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.