Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 79.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 401,031 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 882 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on BEN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Franklin Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.05.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,734,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,161,406. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.24 and a 200 day moving average of $26.27. The stock has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.88 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.