Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 68.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,140 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 39,455 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,850,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 169.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 41.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,978 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $210,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE BEN opened at $26.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.62 and its 200 day moving average is $23.96. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 5.98%.The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 145.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.64.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.