Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Has $343,000 Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,882 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 31,142 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 203,414 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 27,169 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 17,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $11,035,000 after purchasing an additional 27,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.03. 8,293,508 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,330,970. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.21. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.86. The stock has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEN. Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources 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.