Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lowered its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,479,915 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 161,856 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.28% of Franklin Resources worth $30,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $17.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $25.69.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.26%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.