Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 299,250 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 19,922 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Franklin Resources worth $6,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 622,215 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $12,625,000 after purchasing an additional 21,592 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,656 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares during the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,713,000. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 58,020 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 26,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donald L. Hagan LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $894,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.03 on Monday, reaching $20.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,231,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,624,819. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.66 and a 200 day moving average of $20.87. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61.

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, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 196.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.