Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 566,045 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 19,551 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $13,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 67,747 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:BEN opened at $32.48 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $34.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.55.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

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.