HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 61.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,684 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 183,054 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 38,866 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449,210 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 24,204 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $1,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BEN. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped 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. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.86 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.