Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 490 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,558 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 490 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 163,771 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 177.0% during the second quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 27,010 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $243,000. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter worth $225,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $353,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BEN. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.83.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $23.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.94. The firm has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.98%.

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.