Norges Bank Makes New $98.17 Million Investment in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,109,155 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $98,168,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.79% of Franklin Resources as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 129.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $31.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.14. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $32.47.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.