Sanctuary Advisors LLC Has $209,000 Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 35.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,357 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 5,684 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.9 %

BEN opened at $20.14 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.18 and its 200 day moving average is $20.63. 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 (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.36%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

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.