Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Holdings Cut by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 74.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 117,481 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 347,693 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $432,730,000 after acquiring an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,097,979 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $62,858,000 after acquiring an additional 99,405 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $59,316,000 after acquiring an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.33. 3,823,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,267,458. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.16 and its 200-day moving average is $20.60. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

Franklin Resources 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.