Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 805 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,662 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 805 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Franklin Resources by 3.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $237,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,755 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 worth $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,002,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $121,797,000 after purchasing an additional 460,270 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BEN. Barclays boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.83.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $24.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.57. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $25.36. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 188.24%.

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.