Everence Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,260 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 30,300 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE BEN traded down $0.22 on Tuesday, hitting $19.78. 2,914,915 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,511,178. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $29.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 8,467 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.69, for a total transaction of $369,923.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,019 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,020.11. This trade represents a 14.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.73.

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.