Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Chatham Capital Group Inc.

Chatham Capital Group Inc. cut its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,217 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 4,665 shares during the quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $880,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,259 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

Franklin Resources stock opened at $20.10 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 196.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.