Teza Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Teza Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 86.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 291,821 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 203,414 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 27,169 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 93,789 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 24,204 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,829 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 543,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $11,035,000 after purchasing an additional 27,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BEN. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

BEN stock opened at $22.22 on Tuesday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $24.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $19.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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