Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,211 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 239,147 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.05% of Franklin Resources worth $7,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 148.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,100 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 38,919 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,491,598 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $44,435,000 after buying an additional 144,843 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,188,199 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $35,396,000 after buying an additional 414,826 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 966,212 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $23,749,000 after acquiring an additional 110,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 290,588 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $8,657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,338 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 1.7 %

BEN stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.74. 3,351,304 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,818,789. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.88 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Franklin Resources's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $25.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Franklin Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

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.