WBI Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. by 17.2%, owning 85,411 shares worth approximately $1.64 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Franklin Resources, with notable increases from Invesco Ltd. (2.2%), ProShare Advisors LLC (19.6%), and Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. (99.1%) in the first quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32, set to be paid on October 10th, translating to an annualized yield of 5.3%, despite a high payout ratio of 250.98%.

WBI Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,411 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 17,758 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 49.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,139 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.7%

BEN traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.19. The company had a trading volume of 616,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,415,209. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.10. The company has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.42, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.51. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target 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.