Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756,873 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 25,244 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Franklin Resources worth $15,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BEN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $53,676,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $75,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,210 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 336.0% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 786,722 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $15,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $765,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,373 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $21.53 on Monday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $24.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.27. 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 has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.95%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

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.