Foster & Motley Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,327 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 2,582 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 240.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in Franklin Resources by 975.5% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 149.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,111 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $25.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

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.