Sanctuary Advisors LLC Has $209,000 Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 35.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,357 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 5,684 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,997 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 34.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,646 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 3,973 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 491,815 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $9,910,000 after buying an additional 40,800 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 315.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 540,465 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,890,000 after buying an additional 410,286 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 110,394 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.14 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.36%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 196.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.