Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,145 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 22,157 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN opened at $19.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.74 and a twelve month high of $28.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.57.

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, 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.