State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 7,058 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 7.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 84,337 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 7,058 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $441,000. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.7% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 177,608 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,645 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 80.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,777 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.2% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 43,876 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth about $3,549,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $23.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.63 and a 200 day moving average of $23.19. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08. The company has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 45.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 250.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.27.

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.