Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 15,651 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 838,620 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 15,651 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $24,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 25,350 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $23.48 on Thursday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.88 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.38. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

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.