Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 101,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 401,031 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 975.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.05.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $25.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.26. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.88 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.