Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 496,289 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 69,482 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Franklin Resources worth $9,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $53,676,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 173.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $71,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $59,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,971 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $190,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,478 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.83.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $25.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

About Franklin Resources

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.