Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,308 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 7,696 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $22.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.25. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.25.

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.