Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 200,116 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC cut its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Free Report) by 81.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,941 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 200,116 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $53,676,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Franklin Resources by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,752,326 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $75,928,000 after buying an additional 1,449,210 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,715,809 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $765,254,000 after buying an additional 1,095,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,721,446 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $237,828,000 after buying an additional 1,011,755 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.46.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.57. The company had a trading volume of 4,242,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,305,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.04 and a 200 day moving average of $20.20. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $24.86.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources 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.