Tredje AP fonden Has $457,000 Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Tredje AP fonden lowered its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,508 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 22,508 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BEN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $19.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.83 and a twelve month high of $28.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.56.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio 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.