Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management sold 31,202 shares of Franklin Resources, Inc., reducing its stake by 32.7%, and now holds a total of 64,156 shares valued at approximately $1.53 million.
• Franklin Resources recently reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.46, although its revenue of $2.06 billion fell short of forecasts.
• The company announced a $0.32 quarterly dividend, reflecting a yield of 5.3%, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 250.98%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 32.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,156 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 31,202 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,985,065 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $230,713,000 after purchasing an additional 263,619 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 20.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,223,369 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $139,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,419 shares during the period. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 99.1% during the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $100,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,460 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,778,910 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $72,009,000 after purchasing an additional 26,584 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,392,081 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $65,298,000 after acquiring an additional 305,736 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE BEN traded down $0.18 on Monday, hitting $24.24. 4,707,184 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,458,825. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. 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 market cap of $12.59 billion, a PE ratio of 47.53, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.22.

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

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 note on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.58.

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.