Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Bought by Global X Japan Co. Ltd.

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 17.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,138 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,424 shares during the quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $190,805,000 after buying an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $130,645,000 after buying an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $22.60 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $24.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.30.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 188.24%.

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.