Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,500 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 15,715 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,841 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 387.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,926 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 301.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.28 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.66 and its 200 day moving average is $20.87. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.93%.

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.