California Public Employees Retirement System Has $7.08 Million Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 349,090 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 167,096 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $7,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,937 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.63.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BEN traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.89. 5,794,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,360,795. The company's fifty day moving average is $19.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.37. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.16. The stock has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.16%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

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.