Teza Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Teza Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 86.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,218 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 131,004 shares during the quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.53. 3,287,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,364,037. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.28. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $24.37.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BEN. Cowen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

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.