Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,998 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.2 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.69.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BEN. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment 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, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.