Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $416,000 Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,500 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 15,715 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the 3rd 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.7 %

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,091,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,507,344. The company has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50 day moving average is $20.48 and its 200 day moving average is $20.82. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.