Foundation Resource Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Foundation Resource Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 572,379 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 13,389 shares during the period. Franklin Resources accounts for about 1.9% of Foundation Resource Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Foundation Resource Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $11,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $71,171,000 after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,421,000 after acquiring an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.55.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

NYSE BEN traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,828,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,139,190. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.83 and a 52 week high of $28.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.21.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.52%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This trade represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

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.