35,708 Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its Franklin Resources stake by 18.9%, selling 35,708 shares in the third quarter. It retained 152,845 shares valued at about $4.9 million.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.94 per share, beating the $0.77 consensus, while revenue rose 3.9% year over year to $1.88 billion and also topped estimates.
• Analyst sentiment was generally neutral: six analysts rated the stock Hold, four Buy and one Sell, with a consensus price target of $35.89. Shares rose 5.1% to $33.84 in Friday trading.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,845 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 35,708 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $4,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at about $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth about $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 4.6% during the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $83,204,000 after purchasing an additional 153,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 37.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $46,400,000 after purchasing an additional 533,192 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.89.

Franklin Resources News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Franklin Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.94 per share, above analyst expectations of roughly $0.77–$0.78 and up from $0.67 a year earlier. Revenue of $1.88 billion also topped estimates of $1.86 billion and increased 3.9% year over year. Article: Franklin Templeton Q4 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Reports attributed the results to higher revenue, year-over-year growth in assets under management, robust long-term net inflows and lower operating expenses—indicators that support earnings momentum. Article: Franklin Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Revenues, AUM Rises Year Over Year

Franklin Resources Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of BEN stock traded up $1.63 on Friday, hitting $33.84. The company had a trading volume of 7,203,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,711,410. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50-day moving average is $32.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.38.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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