Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $133.93 Million Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 3.7%, selling 265,909 shares and holding 6,957,475 shares as of the most recent filing.
• The quarterly dividend announced by Franklin Resources is set at $0.32 per share, with a yield of 5.2%, and will be paid on October 10th.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Franklin Resources, with Goldman Sachs raising its target to $29.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,957,475 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 265,909 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.32% of Franklin Resources worth $133,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the first quarter worth about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.36. 2,601,160 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,437,168. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.65 billion, a PE ratio of 47.77, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $26.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $24.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.07.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research lowered Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.58.

Franklin Resources Company 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.