Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 48.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,494 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 59,559 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $19.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.93%.

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.