Amundi Sells 526,765 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Franklin Resources stake by 84.1% in the first quarter, selling 526,765 shares and retaining 99,372 shares worth approximately $2.35 million. Other major institutions, including Dimensional Fund Advisors, Invesco and Azora Capital, increased their holdings.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Franklin Resources carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $32.44. Recent upgrades included TD Cowen’s move to a $40 target and Zacks Research’s “strong-buy” rating.
• Franklin Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.66, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $2.28 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equivalent to a 3.9% yield.

Amundi trimmed its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 84.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,372 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 526,765 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $2,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,882,860 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $259,988,000 after acquiring an additional 816,952 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,122,937 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $241,837,000 after purchasing an additional 768,707 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,495 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $192,774,000 after purchasing an additional 272,335 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,083,168 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $169,217,000 after buying an additional 243,836 shares during the period. Finally, Azora Capital LP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.8% in the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,796,575 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $138,480,000 after buying an additional 2,554,105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:BEN opened at $34.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $32.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.11.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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