First Trust Advisors LP Sells 549,539 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,725,465 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 549,539 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.33% of Franklin Resources worth $39,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,328,000. United Community Bank raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 172.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 34,069 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 21,547 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $522,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 34,715.9% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 89,825 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 89,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $840,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 4.7%

BEN opened at $23.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $28.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.89.

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.