State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,726 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 3,108 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 124.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.50 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.74. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.83 and a 52 week high of $28.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

About Franklin Resources

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.