Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 90,993 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 30.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 206,206 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 90,993 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,168,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 188.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 4,131,559 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $98,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697,743 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.8% during the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,796,575 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $138,480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554,105 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,384,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,737,050 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $89,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078,369 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $33.16 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $34.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.