Xponance Inc. Sells 7,355 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,266 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 7,355 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,027 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 80,905 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 35,560 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 9,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 38,990 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

BEN stock opened at $25.35 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.88 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

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.