Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 52.4% during the first quarter, now owning 63,202 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million.
• The company reported $0.49 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.46, although revenue fell 2.2% year-over-year to $2.06 billion.
• Franklin Resources announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32, with an annualized payout of $1.28, which results in a 5.1% dividend yield.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC cut its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 52.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,202 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 69,698 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,636,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,552,032. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08. The firm has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a PE ratio of 50.23, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.34.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.58.

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.