Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,773 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 4,516 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $880,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.73. The firm has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

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.