Raymond James Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 5.8%, holding 532,698 shares valued at $10.25 million after selling 32,810 shares in the first quarter.
• Franklin Resources recently reported earnings of $0.49 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, but observed a 2.2% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, set to be paid out on October 10th, reflecting a 5.0% dividend yield.

Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 532,698 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 32,810 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Franklin Resources worth $10,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BEN. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 143,354 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 12,386 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Franklin Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 432,620 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $8,779,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 80.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 441,559 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 196,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,086,345 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $62,622,000 after purchasing an additional 297,057 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BEN traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.67. 1,935,213 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,437,661. The company has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.86 and its 200-day moving average is $21.84.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 250.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average 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.