Cibc World Markets Corp Reduces Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Cibc World Markets Corp lessened its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,806 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 10,867 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $880,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,857,000. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after buying an additional 27,169 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $19.86 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 50 day moving average price of $20.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Franklin Resources 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.