Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,706,890 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 2,183,041 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.33% of Franklin Resources worth $34,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:BEN opened at $20.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

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.