JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $14.36 Million Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 65.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 707,530 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 1,314,525 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.13% of Franklin Resources worth $14,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $52,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN traded up $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $17.74. The company had a trading volume of 467,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,329,013. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average of $20.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $25.69.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.96.

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.