Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 166,976 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,511 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 166,976 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $436,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 336.0% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 786,722 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $15,963,000 after buying an additional 1,120,022 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $2,664,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 76,029 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,543,000 after buying an additional 3,522 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 648,812 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $13,164,000 after purchasing an additional 236,794 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.53. The company had a trading volume of 3,287,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,364,037. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.27. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $24.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for 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 revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

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.