Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,058,710 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 95,507 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $25,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,384,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,118,686 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $95,265,000 after buying an additional 1,370,132 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 381.7% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,433,816 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,164,000 after buying an additional 1,136,174 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 167.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,494,817 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,575,000 after acquiring an additional 936,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1,109.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 775,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $17,937,000 after acquiring an additional 711,347 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2%

BEN stock opened at $31.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.06 and a 1-year high of $32.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.56.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.