Trexquant Investment LP Has $1.11 Million Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Trexquant Investment LP cut its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 88.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,509 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 424,983 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $17.87. 410,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,334,992. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.33.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.