Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 382,770 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,500,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 382,770 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust were worth $18,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $174,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $189,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $194,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Down 4.7 %

FBRT stock opened at $11.36 on Tuesday. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.21 and a 1-year high of $14.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.91. The company has a current ratio of 84.89, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $933.55 million, a PE ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.28 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.56% and a return on equity of 8.17%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.51%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FBRT. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley raised shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Profile

Benefit Street Partners operates as a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). BSP earns income from investing in a leveraged portfolio of residential mortgage pass-through securities consisting almost exclusively of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) securities issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, either Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (together, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)), or by an agency of the federal government, Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).