Royal Bank of Canada Sells 812,344 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 51.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 755,721 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 812,344 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.14% of Franklin Resources worth $15,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BEN traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.64. 23,398,927 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,462,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $24.37. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $19.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.29.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.91%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

About Franklin Resources

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.