Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Position Lowered by Tredje AP fonden

Tredje AP fonden decreased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,508 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 22,508 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BEN. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $62,858,000 after acquiring an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 3.4 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $19.56 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

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.