Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 170,145 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 22,157 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 30.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,937 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $19.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.57. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.74 and a twelve month high of $28.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 196.92%.

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.