Global Retirement Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Global Retirement Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,901 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,653 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 124.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1,928.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79,469 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after buying an additional 75,552 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 51,632 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 16,283 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 72,275 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 15,688 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.2 %

BEN stock opened at $20.29 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.69. 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 (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.93%.

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.