Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 598,131 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 186,599 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Franklin Resources worth $12,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 263.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,148 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,923,399 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $59,316,000 after purchasing an additional 709,736 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 76.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,290,200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,998,000 after purchasing an additional 560,000 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:BEN opened at $18.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.57. The company has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.83 and a 1-year high of $28.15.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

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.