HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 61.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,684 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 183,054 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $345,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $121,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $60,421,000 after buying an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $301,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BEN. Barclays increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Remove Ads

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,291,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,995,624. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.57. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.