ING Groep NV Sells 980 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

ING Groep NV lessened its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,904 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 980 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.42.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $25.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.42. The firm has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

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.