Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lessened its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 170,655 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for about 1.0% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $19.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. This is a positive change from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

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.