QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 60.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,591 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 35,968 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,307 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 2,855 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 59,818 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,358 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 3,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 148,750 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 93,724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.8%

BEN opened at $22.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.43. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $24.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business 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 firm's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 188.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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