National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,064 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 24,900 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,676,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after buying an additional 709,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 3.7 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $16.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.36 and a 1 year high of $27.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.96 and a 200-day moving average of $20.50.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its 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 net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.59%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.21.

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.