Millennium Management LLC Reduces Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Millennium Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,634,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 239,827 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.31% of Franklin Resources worth $33,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,687 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,677 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE BEN traded down $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,630,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,349,362. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.26. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.92%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BEN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

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.