Rothschild Investment LLC Has $222,000 Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 99.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,935 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 24,383 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 7,192 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. Hardy Reed LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 160.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 69,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 42,742 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 148,750 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 93,724 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $20.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.93%.

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.