Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by Bastion Asset Management Inc.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,892 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 48,619 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources makes up approximately 2.1% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bastion Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $6,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,584,695 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $108,291,000 after acquiring an additional 847,645 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 67,747 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2,069.4% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 4,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,594 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $33.27 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $34.92.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Franklin Resources 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.