Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Acquires 26,982 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 86.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,020 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,982 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 76.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,998,000 after purchasing an additional 560,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $22.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.86 and its 200 day moving average is $21.01.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

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.