Poehling Capital Management INC. Cuts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Poehling Capital Management INC. lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 48.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 55,573 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 52,632 shares during the period. Poehling Capital Management INC.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CSS LLC IL purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $366,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,911,199 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $38,778,000 after acquiring an additional 314,437 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 600,968 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 203,188 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $376,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 103,169 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 30,520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $21.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $24.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEN has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.25.

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.