Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 59.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 343,382 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 508,272 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $8,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 55.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 32,101 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 11,432 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 464,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $8,937,000 after acquiring an additional 85,407 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the first quarter valued at about $811,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 5.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,576 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,530 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE BEN opened at $22.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a PE ratio of 44.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.02.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 250.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BEN. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.83.

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.