Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,837 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 1,807 shares during the period. Franklin Resources comprises 1.1% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 162,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,296,000 after buying an additional 11,367 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,156,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,954 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 15,758 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 729,073 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $14,793,000 after purchasing an additional 199,997 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 100,975 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 71,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN stock opened at $23.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $23.58.

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.