Wells Fargo & Company MN Decreases Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lowered its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,047 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 52,406 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.4 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $17.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. 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 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $25.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.27.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. 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 was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 196.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Company 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.